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CHARLES 
FREDERICK  HOLDER, 


I- 


The  Adventures  of  Torqua 


The 

Adventures  ^Torqua 

Being  the  Life  and  Remarkable  Adventures 

of  Three  Boys,  Refugees  on  the  Island 

of  Santa  Catalina  (Pimug-na)  in 

the  Eighteenth  Century 


By 

Charles    Frederick  Holder 


-X 


Author  of  "  Along  the  Florida  Reef/'    "The  Treasure 

Divers/'  "  Charles  Darwin,  his  Work,"    "The 

Ivory  King,"  "Life  of  Louis  Agassiz,"  etc. 

Illustrated 


Boston 

Little,  Brown,  &  Company 
1902 


Copyright,  1902, 
By  LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY. 


All  rights  reserved 
Published  October,  1902 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS    •     JOHN  WILSON 
AND  SON      •      CAMBRIDGE,   V.  S.  A. 


iancroh  Library 


PREFACE 

WHEN,  in  1542,  Rodriguez  Cabrillo 
sailed  by  the  "  Bay  of  Moons,"  now 
Avalon  Bay,  Santa  Catalina  Island,  Cali- 
fornia, he  named  the  island,  known  to  the 
natives  as  Pimug-na,  La  Vittoria,  after  his 
flagship,  and  the  other  island  (Kinkipar) 
San  Salvador,  after  his  second  caravel,  and 
these  are  the  correct  Spanish  names.  But 
in  1602  Philip  III  ordered  Gaspar  de  Zunega, 
Conde  de  Monterey  to  equip  an  expadition. 
Sabastian  Viscaino  led  it  and  reached  Santa 
Catalina  in  December  of  that  year.  The 
historian  of  the  voyage  was  Father  Torque- 
mada,  who  has  left  a  description  of  the 
temple  and  the  people.  He  describes  the 
latter  as  being  light,  ruddy,  and  a  superior 
race,  having  many  rancherias,  and  canoes 
holding  twenty  men.  Viscaino  disregarded 
the  name  given  by  Cabrillo  and  re-christened 
Pimug-na,  Santa  Catalina,  and  San  Salva- 
dor, San  Clemente,  naming  them  after  the 


Vlll  PREFACE 

patron  saints  of  the  days  of  their  arrival. 
The  islands  were  then  well  populated,  but 
later,  about  the  last  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, the  natives  were  forced  to  leave  and 
were  gathered  around  the  various  missions, 
as  virtual  slaves,  the  beginning  of  the  end. 
La  Perouse  states  that  the  domesticated 
Indians  about  the  missions  of  Upper  Cali- 
fornia in  1786  were  five  thousand.  Hum- 
boldt  gives  the  number  in  1812  as  sixteen 
thousand.  To-day  but  a  pitiful  handful  of 
natives  can  be  found  in  all  Southern  Cali- 
fornia, living  on  desert  lands,  robbed  of 
their  heritage  and  doomed  to  extinction. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  the  reader  to 
know  that  I  have  excavated  in  the  stone 
cavern  where  Torqua  and  his  friends  con- 
cealed themselves,  finding  various  curious 
implements.  I  have  rowed  through  the 
ocean  cave  where  the  boys  made  their  sen- 
sational escape;  have  brought  to  gaff  the 
huge  fishes  caught  by  them  ;  followed  in 
the  wake  of  Torqua's  canoe  fleet  to  Limun 
(Santa  Cruz  Island);  located  the  ancient 
town  sites ;  floated  in  the  darkness  of  the 
marvellous  cave  where  Torqua  fought  his 


PKEFACE  IX 

underground  battle,  and  visited  Cueva 
Valdez  where  his  men  rested.  I  have  traced 
them  to  wind-swept  San  Nicolas ;  seen  the 
despoiled  remains  of  the  islanders  and  the 
great  shell  mounds  which  mark  the  place; 
and  on  Santa  Catalina,  San  Clemente,  and 
all  the  islands  have  excavated  in  the  ancient 
town  sites,  finding  scores  of  implements, 
and  for  years  have  been  familiar  with  the 
canons  and  mountains  of  these  romantic 
islands  —  once  savage  empires  on  the  Sea 
of  Balboa. 

C.  F.  H. 

PASADENA,  CAL.,  1902. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  THE  EXILES 1 

II.  THE  DRAGON  THAT  SWALLOWED  THE  MOON  9 

III.  TORQUA 16 

IV.  THE  ESCAPE 28 

V.  THE  MYSTERIOUS  CAVE 36 

VI.  THE  FLIGHT  OVER  THE  MOUNTAINS  .     .  49 

VII.  THE  CAVERN 62 

VIII.  THE  SEA  SPIDER 71 

IX.  THE  TEMPLE  OF  CHINIGCHINICH    ...  85 

X.  DUEL  OF  THE  SWORDFISH 100 

XI.  THE  SEA  ELEPHANT  ROOKERY  ....  108 

XII.  A  FIERY  STEED 124 

XIII.  A  MAN  HUNT       . 135 

XIV.  AN  OTTER  HUNT      .     .     ...     .     .     .  152 

XV.  Zizu  ESCAPES 168 

XVI.  THE  WRECK  OF  THE  GALLEON.     .     .     .  178 

XVII.  THE  WRECKERS   .     . 187 

XVIII.  THE  ATTACK     . 202 

XIX.  THE  AVENGERS    .     .    V    .     .....  216 

XX.  THE  BATTLE  UNDERGROUND      ....  233 

XXI.  THE  RESCUE 251 

XXII.  WING  AND  WING 264 

XXIII.  THE  PATRIOT  .  272 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Torqua's  Fleet  Sailing  for  Kinkipar     .     . '     Frontispiece 

Indian  Cart  or  Carreta,  used  at  San  Juan  Capis- 

trano Facing  page       8 

Court  of  the  Mission  San  Juan  Capistrano     "          "        16 

Indians  Stampeding  Stock Page     17 

Torqua  as  a  Herder       .     .     .     . "        19 

Site  of  Old  Indian  Town      .......         "        38 

Blue  Cavern  Opening  to  Tunnel "        44 

The  Bay  of  Moons      .     ...     .     .     -  Facing  page     94 

Seal  Rocks   .     ,     .     . Page  109 

Sea  Lions .         "120 

The  Sea  Elephant  Rookery       ....  Facing  page  122 

Flying  Fish Page  128 

Olla  Partly  Worked  Out "147 

Sea  Otter "162 

The  Town  of  Toybipet Facing  page  1 70 

Torqua's  Fleet  in  Pursuit  of  the  Enemy         "          "      228 


XIV  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Natural  Fortress Page  230 

Torqua's    Fleet    Passing    Through   the    Great 

Arch Facing  page  238 

The  Signal  of  Fire Page  247 

The  Tshuma  Town  at  Limun,  looking  from  the 

South  Opening  of  the  Great  Cave    .   Facing  page  254 

Coast  Line  of  San  Nicolas  Island  ..."  "      264 

Torqua  Reading  Signs  on  the  Rocks  at  the  Bay 

of  Moons Facing  page  276 

Mission  of  San  Luis  Rey Page  278 


Map  of  Southern  California  and  Adjacent  Islands     Page    1 


THE 

ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    EXILES. 

(\\  THO  are  the  two  lads  who  serve  us 
W  so  well,  Don  Juan  ?  If  I  did  not 
know  them  as  cabin-boys  I  should  say  that 
they  were  the  sons  of  gentlemen  and  nobly 
born."  . 

The  speaker  was  Don  Benito  Miranda, 
a  young  grandee  of  Spain,  but  an  adven- 
turer for  the  mere  love  of  it,  second  in 
command  of  the  packet "  Hernando  Cortes," 
bound  up  the  Pacific  Coast  in  the  interests 
of  the  King  of  Spain. 

Don  Benito' s  remarks  were  addressed  to 
an  older  man  of  distinguished  appearance, 
a  famous  captain  and  the  commander  of 
the  expedition,  Don  Juan  Gaspar  de 

Mendoza. 

i 


2  THE   ADVENTURES    OF   TOKQUA. 

"I  am  glad  you  have  mentioned  the 
subject,  Don  Benito,"  he  replied.  "  It  has 
been  on  my  tongue  to  speak  to  you  several 
times.  Can  you  keep  a  secret  ?  " 

"Can  I?"  retorted  the  younger  man; 
then  with  a  pretended  show  of  indignation, 
"Could  I  not,  where  would  my  friend 
be  with  his  political  intrigues  and  his 
adventures  ?  " 

"Ah,  I  do  you  an  injustice,"  said  the 
captain,  smiling.  "  I  forget  that  you  have 
always  been  my  confidant,  but  this  is  a 
matter  of  state.  These  boys  were  con- 
signed to  me  by  no  other  than  the  King." 

"  His  Majesty  !  "  exclaimed  Don  Benito, 
in  astonishment. 

"The  King  himself,"  replied  Don  Juan, 
"  and  my  instructions  are  to  leave  them  at 
a  certain  mission  far  to  the  north,  which, 
I  know,  is  a  mere  brush  heap  at  present, 
without  so  much  as  a  bell,  while  the  major- 
domo  to  whom  they  are  consigned  is  a 
scoundrel,  there  for  his  country's  good.  I 
have  taken  a  great  fancy  to  the  boys,  and, 
with  a  full  understanding  of  the  risk,  I 
will  not  be  a  party  to  their  condemnation. 


THE    EXILES.  3 

We  control  the  report  —  can  make  it  what 
we  wish.  I  propose  to  leave  them  in  good 
hands  .at  San  Juan  Capistrano.  What  say 
you?" 

"  Good  !  my  hand  on  it,"  said  the  younger 
man.  "  I  will  agree  to  anything  in  so  just 
a  cause.  But  who  are  they  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Don  Juan,  "  who  knows  ? 
The  boys  themselves  think  they  are  the 
nephews  of  the  Cardinal  Ranipozzi,  as  he 
brought  them  up  and  educated  them  as 
nobles,  but  I  look  higher  than  that.  In 
any  event,  some  dastardly  intrigue  is  on 
foot  to  put  them  out  of  the  way,  which 
you  and  I,  Don  Benito,  will  defeat.  I 
have  a  friend,  a  certain  friar,  at  San  Juan 
who  is  greatly  attached  to  me,  and  I  pro- 
pose consigning  the  boys  to  him  on  my 
own  account  and  to  have  an  eye  to  their 
future.  But  not  a  word — here  they  come." 
In  the  narrow  companion-way  appeared 
two  boys  of  manly  and  noble  appearance. 
Their  names  were  Raphael  and  Arturo 
Velazquez.  The  former  was  fifteen  and 
the  latter  seventeen  years  of  age,  but  both 
looked  older  and  were  well  developed. 


4  THE    ADVENTURES    OF   TORQUA. 

"Senor  Paez  bids  me  report,  sir,  that 
land  is  on  the  lee,  three  leagues  distant," 
said  Arturo,  saluting. 

"  Good,  my  lad,"  said  the  captain,  rising 
and  resting  his  hand  on  the  boy's  shoulder. 
"  It  is  good  luck  to  bring  such  news  aboard 
ship.  We  should  be  off  the  Mission  of 
San  Juan." 

The  officers  went  on  deck  and  found  the 
vessel  speeding  on,  with  a  strong  west  wind 
abeam.  To  the  windward  were  two  large 
islands,  one  flat,  the  other  a  maze  of 
mountains,  San  Clemente  and  Santa  Cata- 
lina,  discovered  by  the  great  commander 
Cabrillo  years  before ;  and  ahead,  a  fair 
land  clothed  in  tender  green,  which,  though 
it  was  winter,  reached  far  up  to  mountains 
in  the  interior,  whose  summits  rose  to  lofty 
heights,  white  with  snow,  seeming  to  pierce 
the  very  empyrean.  Here  and  there  along 
the  coast  were  darker  lines,  which,  the 
captain  told  the  boys,  were  well-wooded 
canons ;  and  far  away,  at  the  base  of  a 
lofty,  purple-hued  range,  they  saw  a  lurid 
blaze,  as  though  the  land  were  aglow  with 
red-hot  coals,  —  the  light  of  a  fire  opal  in 


THE    EXILES.  0 

a  setting  of  green.  This,  Don  Benito  said, 
was  caused  by  a  beautiful  flower,  the  poppy, 
Copa  del  orOy  that  in  midwinter  covered  the 
slopes  of  the  Sierra  Madre  with  such  vivid 
tints  that  miles  away  it  could  be  seen,  and 
the  place  had  been  named  by  the  sailors 
Terra  del  Fuego,  or  the  land  of  fire. 

As  the  vessel  approached  the  land,  more 
of  its  beauties  were  revealed,  a  strange  con- 
trast to  the  regions  which  they  had  passed, 
and  there  was  general  rejoicing  among  the 
crew.  The  land  near  the  shore  was  rocky, 
interspersed  with  sand  dunes  along  shore 
and  white  beaches.  Foothills  met  the  sea 
and  rose  imperceptibly  to  meet  the  giant 
ranges,  which,  to  the  boys,  seemed  to  form 
a  maze  in  the  interior. 

In  the  afternoon  the  packet  rounded  to, 
just  beyond  the  bed  of  kelp  that  formed  a 
protection  to  the  open  bay  at  the  mouth  of 
a  canon,  and  soon  the  chain  was  rattling 
down  and  the  first  ship  to  visit  the  Mission 
of  Saint  John  the  Chanter  in  six  months 
was  in  port.  She  was  soon  boarded  by  the 
Padres  and  the  officer  in  charge  of  the 
Presidio,  who  greeted  the  captain  and  Don 


6  THE   ADVENTURES    OF   TORQUA. 

Benito  warmly,  and  pressed  them  all  to 
land  at  once,  as  a  festa  was  in  progress 
and  a  bull  and  bear  fight  had  been  an- 
nounced for  the  evening.  The  officers  did 
not  need  urging,  as  for  four  months  they 
had  been  beating  up  what  is  now  the  Cali- 
fornian  coast.  The  packet  was  laden  with 
stores  for  the  missions,  and  the  unloading 
began,  the  goods  being  hoisted  out  and 
lowered  into  the  commodious  canoes  of  the 
Indians,  a  number  of  which  surrounded  the 
vessel.  In  one  of  these  boats  Don  Benito3 
Don  Juan,  and  the  two  boys  went  ashore. 
The  landing  was  made  in  the  surf,  but  so 
skilful  were  the  Indians  in  watching  the 
waves  that  the  passengers  were  landed 
safely  and  were  presently  mounted  on 
sturdy  horses,  which  had  been  brought 
down  for  the  purpose,  and  on  their  way 
up  the  canon.  The  San  Juan  River  was 
of  small  proportions  in  winter,  and  in 
summer  it  almost  disappeared ;  but  to  the 
boys  and  officers  who  had  been  so  long 
confined  to  the  little  craft,  it  was  a  fine 
stream,  and  the  verdure  was  an  agreeable 
relief  to  the  eye.  They  walked  their  horses 


THE    EXILES.  7 

through  the  shadows  beneath  the  trees, 
passed  a  large  Indian  rancheria,  now  and 
then  meeting  soldiers  and  Indians ;  and 
finally,  three  miles  from  the  sea,  came  to 
a  commanding  mesa1  upon  which  stood  the 
rich  and  beautiful  Mission  of  San  Juan 
Capistrano,  founded  by  Padre  Junipero  Serra 
in  1776.  There  were  a  troop  of  soldiers, 
several  Franciscans,  and  a  settlement  of 
nearly  a  thousand  Indians  in  the  vicinity, 
all  of  whom  had  gathered  at  the  mission 
in  anticipation  of  the  bear  and  bull  fight, 
so  that  the  scene  was  one  of  great  anima- 
tion, the  crowds  of  half-naked  Indians,  the 
gay  trappings  of  the  soldiers,  who  were 
armed  with  cueras  (leather  jackets)  and 
adargas  (shields),  making  a  bright  and 
stirring  picture  to  the  boys,  who  were 
having  their  first  glance  at  the  wild  and 
barbaric  tribes  of  New  Spain. 

Don  Juan  soon  found  his  friend,  Father 
Anselmo,  and  at  once  placed  Arturo  and 
Raphael  in  his  charge,  commending  them 
to  him. 

"  I  know  that  you  will  do  everything 
you  can  for  these  youths,  Father,  and  in 

1  Elevated  plain. 


8  THE   ADVENTURES    OF   TORQUA. 

confidence  let  not  the  Commandant  of  the 
Presidio  know  that  I  have  any  interest  in 
them.  We  have  had  words  in  San  Bias,  and 
if  he  knew  that  I  hold  the  boys  in  high 
favor  it  might  not  go  so  well  with  them." 
He  placed  in  the  friar's  hand  a  bag  of  coin 
at  parting,  saying  that  he  would  see  them 
that  night. 

The  Father  conducted  the  boys  to  a  long 
wing  of  the  mission,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  great  square,  and  gave  them  a  room. 
It  was  of  adobe,1  whitewashed,  and  con- 
tained two  beds,  with  a  stretched  cow-skin 
for  a  mattress,  and  blankets.  Upon  the 
wall  hung  a  crucifix  and  some  pictures  of 
the  saints.  It  was  the  room  of  one  of  the 
priests,  Father  Anselmo  said,  who  had  gone 
to  the  Mission  of  San  Diego  on  a  visit,  and 
upon  his  return  he  would  see  that  the  boys 
had  permanent  quarters.  Into  this  room, 
cell-like,  but  neat  and  clean,  Indian  boys 
carried  their  boxes,  which  had  been  brought 
up  from  the  beach  on  a  strange,  big  wheeled 
cart,  or  carreta  ;  and,  having  unpacked  their 
belongings,  they  felt  that  their  long  jour- 
ney was  at  an  end  and  not  unhappily. 

1  Sun-dried  bricks. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   DRAGON   THAT   SWALLOWED  THE  MOON. 

AS  night  came  on,  the  great  square  of 
the  mission  became  filled  with  an 
excited  crowd.  The  tiled  buildings  covered 
a  large  area,  the  church  or  chapel  forming 
the  east  side.  To  the  south  were  rooms 
for  the  attendants  and  Fathers  ;  to  the  west 
were  apartments  for  stores,  beyond  these 
corrals  for  horses,  and  around  all  a  fine 
arched  corridor.  The  belfry  in  the  front 
of  the  church  was  pierced  for  four  bells, 
whose  chimes  could  be  heard  far  down  the 
valley  and  for  miles  around,  so  clear  and 
vibrant  was  the  air.  All  these  buildings 
formed  a  huge,  open  square,  which  was  to 
be  the  scene  of  the  fight. 

The  boys  were  amazed  at  the  size  and 
evident  wealth  l  of  the  mission,  which  was 

1  In  1834  San  Luis  Rey  Mission  had  an  Indian  popu- 
lation of  3,400,  24,000  cattle,  10,000  horses,  100,000 
sheep,  14,000  bushels  of  grain.  To-day  these  are  but  a 
memory,  the  beautiful  mission  a  picturesque  ruin. 


10     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

really  a  principality,  a  world  by  itself. 
There  were  thousands  of  cattle,  vineyards, 
gardens,  acres  of  grazing  land  which  reached 
away  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see,  and  living 
about  the  mission  were  several  thousand 
natives,  who  were  being  educated  by  the 
Fathers  with  a  view  to  their  conversion 
and  employment.  In  the  mission. grounds 
proper  were  the  quarters  for  many  natives, 
who  were  learning  professions  of  various 
kinds.  In  one  room  they  saw  the  saddle- 
makers  at  work.  In  a  shed  native  black- 
smiths were  plying  their  trade ;  tailors  were 
making  clothes ;  bakers  were  cooking  in 
the  kitchen,  the  smoke  finding  its  way  up 
through  an  ornamental  chimney,  which  still 
stands.  Here  were  silversmiths,  candle- 
makers,  shoemakers,  hatters,  candy-makers, 
masons,  hunters  repairing  their  guns  and 
arrows,  weavers,  tile-makers  whose  produc- 
tions covered  the  great  expanse  of  roof. 
In  the  square  several  horse  trainers  were 
plying  their  trade,  to  the  amusement  of  a 
crowd  ;  and  sitting  in  the  shadow  of  the 
adobe  wall  were  a  number  of  very  old 
women.  Father  Anselmo  told  the  boys 


THE   DRAGON    SWALLOWS   THE    MOON.      11 

that  one  was  one  hundred  and  twenty  years 
of  age  and  the  others  over  ninety.  They 
were  basket-makers,  and  beautiful  examples 
of  their  art  were  seen  woven  in  rare  and 
attractive  designs.  Even  the  minor  offices 
of  the  church  and  chapel  were  filled  by 
natives.  Some  were  sacristans,  others 
were  bell-ringers ;  some  were  musicians ; 
while  the  very  art  work  in  the  church,  the 
decorating,  was  done  by  fresco  painters, 
selected  from  among  the  native  youths. 
The  women  were  embroiderers,  milliners, 
and  singers ;  indeed,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  an  art  or  trade  which  the  Fathers  had 
not  taught  or  were  not  trying  to  teach  the 
natives,  who  were  virtual  savages,  prefer- 
ring to  go  without  clothes  and  worship- 
ping the  god  Chinigchinich,  whose  figure 
of  wood  could  be  found  in  many  ran- 
cherias  not  yet  under  the  influence  of  the 
missions. 

The  moon  was  high  in  the  heavens,  clear 
and  full,  when  the  major-domo  drove  the 
people  out  of  the  square,  who  took  their 
positions  and  covered  the  tile  roofs  of  the 
mission,  until  they  were  black.  Many 


12    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

carried  hides  to  sit  on,  so  that  they  could 
witness  the  performance  with  comfort ; 
while  others  spread  gaudy  blankets  over 
the  tiles. 

Finally  all  was  ready  for  the  sport,  and 
at  the  word  a  gate  was  thrown  open  and 
a  black,  fierce-eyed  bull  rushed  into  the 
arena,  snorting  and  looking  with  wonder 
at  the  forms  which,  illumined  by  the  light 
of  the  moon  and  by  brush  fires  without  the 
walls,  stood  out  in  bold  relief.  The  In- 
dians and  soldiers  greeted  the  animal  with 
jeers,  shouts,  and  reflections  upon  its  cour- 
age, and  as  their  cries  increased  in  volume 
another  gate  was  opened  and  out  walked  a 
grizzly  bear,  which  seemed  of  colossal  size 
to  Raphael  and  Arturo,  who  looked  with 
amazement  upon  the  sight.  The  bear  had 
been  lassoed  by  an  Indian,  named  Torqua, 
that  morning  high  in  the  mountains ;  and, 
having  been  dragged  down  by  a  crowd  of 
herders,  it  was  in  a  frenzy  of  rage.  As  the 
bull  came  trotting  around,  the  bear  rose 
upon  its  haunches,  seemingly  scenting  the 
danger.  The  bull  apparently  did  not  see 
the  bear  at  first,  but  when  it  did  it  dropped 


THE  DRAGON  SWALLOWS  THE  MOON.   13 

its  head  and  charged,  catching  the  bear 
upon  the  side,  sending  it  rolling  in  the  dust, 
amid  the  terrific  roars  and  yells  of  the  ex- 
cited Indians.  The  bull  stood  pawing  the 
earth,  throwing  dust  over  its  back,  while 
the  bear  limped  away,  apparently  injured. 
But  the  grizzly  was  not  retreating.  It  dis- 
appeared into  the  shadow,  turned  in  a 
circle  and  came  toward  the  bull,  watching 
it  out  of  the  corners  of  its  small  eyes.  The 
bull  saw  it  coming  and  again  lowered  its 
head  and  rushed  on;  but  the  bear  had 
learned  by  experience,  and  as  the  bull 
charged,  it  suddenly  stepped  to  one  side, 
and,  as  the  bull  passed,  dealt  it  so  terrible 
a  blow  that  it  fell  upon  its  head,  rolling 
over  and  over,  to  the  delight  of  the  friends 
of  the  bear.  The  bull  was  merely  stunned 
and  soon  regained  its  feet,  and  with  vary- 
ing features  the  contest  continued ;  now 
the  bear  being  gored,  or  the  bull  being  torn 
by  the  sharp  claws  or  beaten  down  by 
fierce  blows,  until  the  boys  became  dis- 
gusted with  the  heartless  sport  that  was 
without  the  ending  of  the  bull  fight  with 
which  they  were  familiar.  They  were 


14    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

about  to  retire  when  a  cry  was  heard, 
"  The  moon  !  the  moon  !  "  and  glancing  up- 
ward they  witnessed  a  singular  spectacle. 
It  was  growing  perceptibly  darker,  and  a 
large  notch  was  visible  in  the  face  of  the 
moon.  A  weird  murmuring  sound  now  took 
the  place  of  the  cries,  and  the  bear  and  bull 
were  forgotten  by  the  multitude. 

Suddenly  a  voice  cried  in  the  Indian 
tongue,  "  The  dragon  is  swallowing  the 
moon !  The  dragon  is  swallowing  the 
moon !  " 

The  Indian  men  and  women  ran  wildly 
about,  dropping  from  the  tiled  roof ;  others 
took  their  hides,  held  them  aloft,  and  beat 
them  with  sticks.  Some  threw  sand  and 
stones  at  the  moon.  Some  hid  among  the 
willows  and  tules1  in  the  river  bed,  and 
many  crowded  around  the  Fathers,  begging 
them  to  save  them  and  the  moon  by  an 
appeal  to  the  saints. 

All  the  while  a  strange  and  mysterious 
light  was  taking  the  place  of  the  brilliant 
moonlight  of  a  few  moments  before.  At 
first  it  brought  out  all  objects  with  strange 

1  Tall  bulrush. 


THE  DRAGON  SWALLOWS  THE  MOON.   15 

distinctness,  then  began  to  fade  and,  amid 
the  wailing  of  the  people,  the  beating  of 
hides  and  the  rattling  of  stones  upon  the 
tiles  of  the  mission,  the  moon  seemed  to 
fade  away  in  a  cloudless  sky. 


CHAPTER  III. 

TOKQUA. 

THE  remarkable  exhibition  of  fear  and 
superstition  on  the  part  of  the  San 
Juan  Capistrano  Indians  was  due  to  an 
eclipse  of  the  moon.  Father  Anselmo  told 
the  boys  that  they  had  a  tradition  very 
similar  to  that  of  the  Chinese,  that  a  huge 
dragon  was  continually  scouring  the  heavens 
trying  to  catch  the  moon ;  that  sometimes 
it  succeeded  ;  and  as  it  was  being  swallowed 
if  they  could  frighten  it  by  loud  cries,  it 
would  release  its  victim  and  the  satellite 
would  be  saved,  hence  the  beating  of  hides 
and  the  throwing  of  sand  and  stones  at 
the  supposed  dragon. 

The  boys  rapidly  learned  the  ways  of 
the  Padres,  and  were  assigned  positions  as 
herders  or  cow-boys  of  the  vast  flocks  of 
the  mission,  having  under  them  a  number 
of  Indians,  who  were  constantly  on  the 
watch  fearing  that  the  warlike  desert 


TORQUA.  17 

Indians  would  successfully  stampede  the 
cattle,  which  they  often  attempted.  One 
of  the  latter  especially  attracted  them,  a 
youth  named  Torqua,  who  took  them  to 
the  summit  of  a  high  hill  one  day  and 
showed  them  a  large  island,  Pimug-na  he 


Indians  Stampeding  Stock. 

called  it,  though  the  Fathers  said  it  was 
Santa  Catalina,  named  after  the  saint's 
day  on  which  it  was  discovered.  The 
island  was  Torqua's  home,  and  he  told  the 
boys  that  his  father  and  mother  and  all 
his  friends  were  there,  and  that'  he  and 
twenty  or  thirty  others  had  been  brought 
over  by  the  Fathers  to  learn  the  religion 
of  the  Spaniards  and  to  work.  Torqua 
evidently  longed  for  his  island  home ;  he 


18     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

talked  about  it  continually,  describing  its 
beauties,  its  wonderful  fish,  the  game,  the 
herds  of  monster  seals,  the  wealth  of  his 
people  and  their  canoes,  and  it  was  evident 
that  his  novitiate  was  more  or  less  com- 
pulsory and  that  he  resented  the  action  of 
the  Padres. 

The  winter  days  at  San  Juan  were  per- 
fect. It  was  midwinter,  yet  the  hills  and 
mesas  were  covered  with  wild  flowers,  which 
ran  riot  in  canon  and  on  mesa,  and  in  the 
mission  gardens  the  orange  and  lemon  were 
ripening,  while  palms  and  other  plants 
gave  a  tropical  and  luxuriant  aspect  to 
nature.  Their  work  kept  the  boys  out  of 
doors  on  horseback  all  day  long,  and  Torqua 
showed  them  all  the  nooks  and  corners  of 
the  country ;  taught  them  to  kill  quail 
with  the  macdna1  and  to  use  the  riata, 
or  lasso,  which  hung  upon  each  orna- 
mented saddle,  a  long,  twisted  rawhide 
with  a  slip  noose,  which  Torqua  threw  with 
great  skill.  He  was  an  excellent  teacher 
and  the  boys  apt  pupils.  Sometimes  when 
on  the  range  they  played  that  Torqua  was 

1  Boomerang. 


TORQUA.  19 

a  mountain  lion  and  followed  him  at  full 
speed,  hurling  the  riata  at  him,  which  at 
first  fell  short,  but  soon  dropped  over  his 
head  or  that  of  his  horse,  and  the  moun- 
tain lion  would  be  brought  to  a  standstill. 
Again  the  game  would  be  that  a  grizzly 


Torqua  as  a  Herder. 


bear  was  to  be  caught,  and  the  three  riatas 
were  used ;  one  at  the  head,  and  the  more 
difficult  feat  of  throwing  it  about  the  feet. 
This  Torqua  could  easily  do,  catching  a 
steer  by  any  leg  the  boys  indicated. 

One  day  he  was  leading  them  through 
a  little  valley  in  the  mountains  where  once 
the  Apaches  killed  a  mission  Indian  herder, 
when  they  came  to  a  patch  of  high  mustard, 


20     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

its  tops  a  mass  of  golden  sheen.  As  they 
rode  on,  the  blossoms  rose  above  the  boys' 
heads  and  they  were  covered  with  the 
bright  yellow  bloom.  Suddenly  Torqua 
reined  in  his  horse  and  held  up  a  hand 
of  warning.  "  Over  beyond,"  he  said,  "  lies 
a  dead  ox,  and  about  it  are  four  or  five  big 
birds,1  the  largest  in  the  world.  They  are 
gorged  with  food  and  can  hardly  fly,  so  we 
can  take  them  with  our  riatas." 

Lassoing  a  bird  was  a  novel  sport  to  the 
boys,  though  common  among  the  natives, 
so  they  prepared  their  riatas  with  no  little 
excitement,  and,  at  the  word,  dashed  from 
their  ambush  at  full  speed.  They  came 
upon  four  enormous  birds  about  the  body, 
which,  upon  seeing  the  horses,  raised  their 
huge  wings  and  ran  off  in  a  ludicrous 
manner,  trying  in  vain  to  fly,  but  unable 
to  rise  on  account  of  the  amount  they  had 
eaten.  Torqua  threw  his  riata  about  one 
as  it  attempted  to  rise  into  the  air,  and 
brought  it,  struggling,  to  the  ground. 
Raphael  missed  his  bird,  and,  leaping  from 
the  saddle,  ran  and  tossed  his  rope  over 

1  California  condor. 


TORQUA.  21 

it  and  held  it,  the  bird  pecking  at  him 
viciously. 

"  What  shall  we  do  with  them  ?  "  asked 
Arturo. 

"  Kill  them  !  "  cried  Torqua, 

"  Are  they  of  any  use  ?"  asked  Raphael. 

"  Only  to  kill,"  replied  Torqua. 

"  Then  let  them  go,"  said  Raphael,  tossing 
his  rope  away  from  the  bird.  "  My  uncle 
always  told  me  never  to  kill  any  animal 
unless  I  could  use  it." 

"  He  must  have  been  a  curious  man," 
laughed  Torqua;  "not  a  hunter." 

"  Yes,  a  great  hunter  and  a  great  gen- 
eral," retorted  Raphael. 

This  argument  was  too  deep  for  Torqua 
and  he  merely  stared  at  Raphael,  and 
thought  that  he  was  a  very  strange  sort 
of  boy  not  to  wish  to  kill  anything. 

"  Let  yours  go,  Torqua,"  said  Raphael. 
"  The  poor  thing  is  twisting  its  neck." 

"  Very  good,  if  you  say,"  replied  the 
Indian  ;  and,  jerking  away  his  riata,  the  big 
condor  ran  off  and  with  a  cumbersome 
movement  rose  into  the  air. 

It  was  Torqua  who  promised  the  boys 


22  THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

that  some  day,  when  they  could  obtain  the 
Father's  permission,  he  would  show  them  a 
lake l  that  lay  like  a  gem  on  the  other  side 
of  the  range  of  mountains.  But  before  this 
opportunity  came,  an  event  occurred  which 
changed  the  entire  tenor  of  their  lives. 

Two  months  after  the  packet  had  sailed, 
the  Father  who  had  been  on  a  trip  to  the 
San  Diego  Mission  arrived  with  a  guard  of 
soldiers,  and  the  same  day  the  boys  were 
summoned  by  the  Father  Superior,  who 
questioned  them  very  closely  about  their 
trip  from  Mexico  and  endeavored  to  learn 
everything  regarding  their  past  that  he 
could.  His  manner  from  now  on  changed 
perceptibly.  He  was  severe  with  them, 
and  the  boys  noticed  that  they  never  went 
far  without  the  company  of  one  or  more  of 
the  Spanish  soldiers.  It  became  so  evident 
that  they  were  under  surveillance  that 
Raphael  finally  approached  Father  Anselmo 
and  asked  him  the  cause  of  so  marked  a 
change  in  their  treatment.  At  first  the 
Padre  evaded  the  question,  but  finally  he 
said  : 

1  Elsinore. 


TORQUA.  23 

"  I  am  sorry  to  tell  you,  my  son,  but  you 
were  sent  from  Mexico  with  Captain  Men- 
doza,  who  had  orders  to  leave  you  at  a 
distant  mission,  far  up  the  coast.  He  dis- 
obeyed his  instructions  out  of  pure  regard 
for  you  and  landed  you  here,  placing  you 
in  my  care,  thinking  that  it  would  not  be 
discovered ;  but  the  Governor-General,  it 
seems,  to  prevent  anything  of  the  kind, 
wrote  a  letter  to  each  Father  Superior  to 
the  effect  that  you  were  destined  for  a  cer- 
tain mission  and  to  see  that  you  reached  it, 
under  direct  orders  from  his  Majesty  the 
King.  Captain  Mendoza  was  not  aware 
of  these  communications,  and,  singularly 
enough,  the  letter  of  instructions  destined 
for  our  Superior  was  left  at  San  Diego  by 
mistake  and  was  brought  overland  by 
Father  Sanchez.  So  it  becomes  the  duty 
of  this  mission  to  forward  you  with  the 
detachment,  which  leaves  next  week." 

"  Is  it  far  distant  ?  "  asked  Raphael. 

"  I  fear  it  is,"  said  Father  Anselmo.  "  I 
hear  it  is  on  the  very  border,  a  place  once 
selected  for  a  mission,  but  in  the  midst  of 
savage  tribes.  I  wish  I  could  stay  the  in- 
structions, but  I  am  powerless." 


24     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

Raphael  was  greatly  dejected  over  the 
news  and  quickly  sought  Arturo  to  tell  him 
what  Father  Anselmo  had  said. 

"  It  is  evident/'  said  Raphael,  "  that  we 
are  the  victims  of  some  plot ;  orders  have 
been  given  not  to  aid  us  and  to  place  us  on 
the  very  borders  of  the  land,  where  we 
shall  never  be  heard  from  again.  We  have 
all  along  supposed  that  we  were  to  be  given 
an  opportunity  to  rise  and  enrich  ourselves 
in  the  King's  service,  but  I  see  that  we 
have  been  entrapped." 

"  What  can  we  do  ? "  asked  Arturo. 
"Shall  you  go?" 

"  Not  if  I  can  help  it,"  replied  Raphael 
with  spirit.  "  But  say  nothing  and  per- 
haps we  can  escape  in  some  way.  I  under- 
stand that  sometimes  galleons  from  or  to 
the  Philippines  stop  at  the  islands  off  the 
coast;  if  we  could  reach  them  we  would 
be  safe." 

"  Why  not  ask  Torqua  ?  "  said  Arturo. 

"  The  very  thing,"  replied  his  brother. 
"There  he  is  on  the  mesa." 

Torqua,  upon  seeing  the  boys  waving 
their  sombreros,  rode  toward  them,  and 


TORQUA.  25 

displayed  the  greatest  concern  when  he 
learned  that  they  were  going  to  be  sent 
away. 

"  Why  should  you  go  ?  "  he  said,  in  the 
quaint  mixed  Spanish  and  Indian  he  al- 
ways used. 

61  We  cannot  help  it,"  replied  Raphael. 
"They  will  send  us  by  force.  We  go 
under  guard." 

"  But  you  can  run  away,"  said  Torqua. 

"  Where  ?  "  asked  Arturo. 

"To  Pimug-na,  Santa  Catalina,"  said 
Torqua,  his  dark  face  brightening  at  the 
thought.  "  There  you  could  be  a  hunter  and 
trapper,  catch  the  otter  and  sell  the  skins 
to  the  Russian  traders  who  come  once  a 
year  and  with  whom  my  people  trade. 
Perhaps,"  continued  the  Indian  boy,  his 
eyes  glistening,  "  perhaps  you  could  catch 
the  white  otter,  for  which  a  great  price  is 
offered.  All  the  young  men  have  tried  for 
it,  and  would  get  a  fortune  —  fifty  pieces 
of  gold  — for  its  skin." 

"  But  how  can  we  reach  the  island  ? " 
asked  Raphael. 

"  How  ?  "  said  Torqua,  looking   around 


26    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

to  make  sure  that  he  was  not  heard. 
"  Why,  I  am  going  home.  I  am  going  to  run 
away  myself  from  these  people,  who  have 
no  right  to  keep  me  and  make  me  work. 
My  father  is  a  great  chief.  You  have  a 
king,  Don  Raphael.  My  father  is  king  of 
Pimug-na.  You  can  go  with  me  ;  he  will  be 
your  friend.  I  will  show  you  the  land 
where  it  is  summer  all  the  time,  where  the 
eagle  builds  its  nest,  and  where  the  olla  1  is 
made." 

"  But  how  can  we  get  across  ?  "  asked 
Raphael. 

"  In  my  canoe,"  said  Torqua.  "  It  is  on 
the  sands.  I  have  an  olla  of  water  and  a 
bag  of  tunas2  hidden  in  the  bush  now. 
We  will  steal  down  some  night,  launch  her, 
and  the  next  day  will  be  with  my  people." 

"  But  they  will  miss  your  canoe  and  fol- 
low us,"  said  Raphael,  who  thought  of 
everything. 

"  They  may  follow,"  responded  the  In- 
dian, "  but  once  at  Santa  Catalina,  as  they 

1  A  clay  or  soapstone  jar  ;  pronounced  o-yer. 

2  Tuna  is  the  name  of  the  fruit  of  the  prickly-pear, 
also  the  Italian  name  of  the  horse  mackerel. 


TORQUA.  27 

call  it,  they  will  never  find  us.  I  know 
caves  in  the  mountains  in  which  we  could 
hide  for  years." 

"  What  say  you,  Arturo  ?  "  queried 
Kaphael. 

"  I  say  go  with  Torqua,"  said  the  younger 
boy.  "  We  have  no  better  friend." 

"Then,"  said  Raphael,  "it  is  settled,  we 
go  ;  but  it  must  be  before  Sunday,  as  then 
the  guard  goes  North  and  we  are  their  pris- 
oners. Even  now  they  follow  us  as  though 
we  had  committed  some  crime." 

"  If  it  does  not  storm,  say  to-morrow 
night,"  suggested  Torqua.  "Bring  what 
food  you  can  and  steal  down  to  the  beach 
soon  after  the  Angelus  rings." 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE    ESCAPE. 

THE  boys  were  so  excited  over  their 
proposed  escape  that  they  slept  but 
little  that  night,  and  the  first  rays  of  light 
which  broke  over  the  Sierra  Madre  found 
them  still  talking  in  subdued  tones.  They 
longed  to  say  good-bye  to  Father  Anselmo, 
who  had  been  their  friend,  and  to  the 
major-domo,  who  had  become  attached  to 
them  ;  but  these  conscientious  men  would 
have  considered  it  their  duty  to  disclose  the 
plan,  so  the  boys  went  about  their  duties  as 
usual.  They  rose  early,  brought  in  their 
horses  and  watered  them,  ate  their  frugal 
breakfast  with  the  Mexican  and  Indian 
herders,  and  rode  out  on  to  the  mesa. 
It  seemed  the  longest  day  of  their  lives, 
and  they  were  in  constant  fear  that  some 
plan  of  the  soldiers  might  have  been 
changed  and  the  march  begun  that  day ; 
but  nothing  of  the  kind  occurred,  and  in  the 


THE    ESCAPE.  29 

afternoon  Torqua,  who  had  been  on  a  dis- 
tant range  hunting  stray  cattle,  told  them 
again  that  he  was  ready  and  would  expect 
them  that  night,  and  that  they  must  meet 
him  in  the  willows  below  the  mission  after 
the  ringing  of  the  Angelus. 

The  boys  went  to  their  room  early  and 
sat  waiting  for  the  signal.  A  group  of 
soldiers  walked  up  and  down  in  front  of 
their  door,  and  they  feared  that  their  plan 
had  been  suspected.  But  the  men  left  just 
before  the  sweet  notes  of  the  Angelus  broke 
the  stillness  of  the  evening  and  echoed  down 
the  little  valley. 

Hardly  had  the  sound  died  away  than 
the  boys  stole  quietly  out  of  the  room,  car- 
rying their  shoes  and  clothing  in  a  bundle. 
They  crept  along  the  grim  corridor,  through 
which  the  bats  were  flitting,  glancing  at 
the  doors  and  windows,  fearing  that  some 
one  would  stop  them.  They  passed  the 
stable  and  corral,  crossed  an  empty  room, 
and  stood  for  a  moment  looking  out  of  the 
broken  window ;  then  seeing  that  the  way 
was  clear,  stepped  out  of  the  mission,  and, 
keeping  in  the  shadow  until  they  came  to 


30          THE   ADVENTURES    OF    TORQTJA. 

the  corner,  crept  across  the  trail  and  made 
their  way  silently  through  the  brush  to  the 
willows  in  the  arroyo.1  Here  they  stopped 
and  Raphael  gave  the  signal,  the  whistling 
note  of  the  quail,  co-ca-co,  co-ca-co.  Then 
out  of  the  darkness  came  the  low,  answering 
notes,  and  a  far  better  imitation,  wook-wook- 
ook,  tvooJc-wooJc-ooJc. 

"It  is  Torqua,"  whispered  Raphael; 
"push  on." 

The  willows  filled  the  little  arroyo  here, 
and  the  boys  pressed  the  branches  aside 
and  made  for  the  sounds,  almost  walking 
over  Torqua,  who  was  lying  in  the  brush 
imitating  all  the  notes  of  the  jaunty  little 
quail. 

Springing  to  his  feet,  he  silently  led  the 
way  beneath  the  willows,  now  stopping-  to 
listen  to  the  hooting  of  an  owl,  then  moving 
on,  stooping  beneath  the  branches,  crossing 
the  little  stream  many  times,  the  boys 
following  in  single  file.  After  half  a  mile 
of  this  they  came  to  the  main  river  bed, 
and,  keeping  to  the  north  side,  passed 
swiftly  down  toward  the  sea,  whose  musi- 

1  Dry  river. 


THE    ESCAPE.  31 

cal  booming  could  now  be  heard  trembling 
in  the  air.  When  halfway  down  Torqua 
stopped,  and,  after  searching  about  in  the 
brush,  brought  out  a  soapstone  olla,  which 
he  filled  with  water,  then  another,  which 
he  handed  to  the  boys,  who  found  it  was 
filled  with  tunas,  or  the  fruit  of  the  large 
prickly-pear. 

"  We  can  live  on  these  until  we  reach 
the  island,"  said  Torqua,  "  and  then  there 
is  plenty  to  eat." 

The  trail  to  the  Mission  of  San  Luis  Rey 
was  in  the  arroyo  to  the  south,  over  which 
Indians  and  soldiers  often  passed,  so  they 
kept  well  in  the  foothills  on  the  opposite 
ground,  though  occasionally  the  thick  brush 
forced  them  into  the  stream  itself.  The 
booming  of  the  waves  grew  louder  and 
louder,  and  suddenly  they  came  out  upon 
the  sand  dunes  that  formed  the  upper 
beach,  beyond  which  stretched  the  sea. 
The  dunes  were  wind  swept,  heaped  in 
strange  shapes,  like  billows,  ever  changing, 
and  as  the  boys  stepped  out  upon  them 
Torqua  stopped  and  put  down  his  olla. 

"  I  left  my  canoe  in  this  hollow,"   he 


32    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

said,  "  but  it  is  gone.  Down  !  "  he  quickly 
whispered  ;  "  some  one  comes." 

The  Indian  dropped  flat  upon  the  sands, 
as  did  his  companions,  the  hollows  of  the 
dunes  affording  complete  protection,  and 
they  slowly  crawled  along  until  they  were 
in  a  deep  one.  The  sound  of  clanking  bits 
and  spurs  was  now  plainly  heard,  and  then 
voices,  and  in  the  moonlight  a  horseman 
was  seen  coming  up  the  long  beach,  followed 
by  several  others.  It  was  evident  the  boys 
had  not  been  seen,  but  they  lay  flat  among 
the  dunes,  hardly  daring  to  breathe  until 
the  riders  had  gone  by.  It  was  doubtless 
a  squad  of  soldiers  from  the  garrison  at 
San  Luis  Rey  or  San  Diego,  journeying  to 
the  Mission  of  San  Juan.  Indeed,  it  was 
the  company  for  Monterey  that  was  to  act 
as  the  guard  to  the  boys  who  were  crouch- 
ing in  the  sand  dune  not  ten  varas l  distant. 

"That  was  a  narrow  escape,"  said 
Eaphael,  peering  over  the  edge.  "  What 
shall  we  do,  go  back  ? " 

"  No,  no,  I  will  never  go  back !  "  cried 
Torqua.  "  I  will  swim  first.  I  will  find 

i  A  vara  is  thirty-two  inches. 


THE    ESCAPE.  33 

my  canoe,  it  is  here  somewhere ;  some  one 
pull  him  up.  You  look  that  way  and  I 
look  this  way." 

The  wind  had  raised  the  sand  up  in 
many  strange  forms,  and  the  boys  began  to 
search  the  dunes,  the  hollows  of  which 
were  often  used  by  the  Indians  for  various 
purposes.  In  one  they  found  a  heap  of 
abalones l ;  in  another,  a  smouldering  fire. 
Finally  a  low  call  of  the  gull  from  Torqua 
recalled  them,  and  running  up  the  beach 
they  found  him  standing  by  a  canoe  that 
had  been  hauled  up  under  some  low  trees. 

"  It  is  she,"  said  Torqua,  patting  the 
rude  boat  with  a  caressing  hand.  "  She  is 
light,  see,"  and  he  lifted  one  end,  "yet 
can  stand  heavy  seas." 

The  canoe  was  a  small  craft  to  pass  the 
rollers  that  were  coming  in  upon  the  sands, 
making  a  blaze  of  white  phosphorescent 
light  far  down  the  shore,  but  the  boys  did 
not  hesitate.  They  grasped  the  rail  and 
easily  dragged  the  canoe  down  the  sands 
to  the  water.  Raphael  then  brought  an 
armful  of  abalones,  while  Arturo  placed  the 

1  The  shell  haliotis. 
3 


34    THE  ADVENTURES  OP  TORQUA. 

ollas  aboard,  and  they  were  ready  for  the 
start. 

"You,  Don  Raphael,  sit  in  the  bow," 
said  Torqua,  "  and  have  your  paddle  all 
ready.  You,  Don  Arturo,  take  the  next 
seat,  and  when  I  give  the  word,  pull  with 
all  your  strength." 

They  ran  the  canoe  out  into  the  water, 
and  when  it  was  very  nearly  afloat  the 
boys  jumped  in  and  took  their  places,  while 
Torqua  pushed  the  canoe  out,  wading  into 
the  water  and  holding  it.  He  was  a  skilful 
surf  rider  with  balsa1  or  canoe  and  watched 
the  waves  carefully.  Some  of  the  high 
ones  broke  and  almost  filled  the  boat  and 
drove  him  back  and  forth,  but  he  kept 
edging  the  canoe  out,  and  finally  gave  it 
a  violent  push  and  dragged  himself  over 
the  rail,  then  seizing  a  paddle,  the  boys 
used  them  with  all  their  strength.  A  big 
wave  came  curling  in,  but  the  canoe  rose 
upon  it  like  a  feather ;  another  threatened 
them,  but  they  bent  to  the  paddles  and  the 
canoe  shot  ahead,  passing  the  rollers  in 
safety  and  floated  in  the  kelp  bed  that 

1  Balsa,  a  boat-like  raft  often  made  of  tule. 


THE    ESCAPE.  35 

formed  a  protecting   band   or  barrier   two 
or  three  hundred  yards  from  shore. 

"  It 's  easy  if  you  know  how/'  said 
Torqua  gleefully.  "  Waves  come  three  big, 
three  small,  three  very  small,  then  three 
very  big.  All  you  do  is  wait  for  small 


waves." 


The  sea  was  now  perfectly  smooth,  a 
gentle  wind  blowing  off  shore,  and  the 
moon  well  up. 

"  Which  way  do  we  go  ?  "  asked  Raphael. 

"Follow  the  moon,"  said  Torqua.  And 
out  into  the  dark  sea  they  paddled,  leaving 
the  scintillating  blaze  of  the  moon  behind 
following  in  their  trail  like  a  pathway  of 
silver. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE    MYSTERIOUS    CAVE. 

TORQUA'S  canoe  was  a  seaworthy 
craft,  cut  out  of  a  big  pine  log  which 
had  drifted  down  from  the  unknown  North. 
It  was  intended  for  two  paddlers,  but  with 
three  made  good  headway.  Long  into  the 
night  the  boys  paddled  on,  speaking  only 
occasionally.  Now  Torqua  would  stop,  lay 
down  his  paddle,  and  take  a  long  draught 
from  the  olla,  whose  mouth  he  stopped 
with  a  cactus  leaf  from  which  he  had  cut 
the  spines,  then  he  would  pass  it  to  Raphael 
and  Arturo,  and,  refreshed,  they  would 
paddle  on.  As  they  worked  off  shore  they 
felt  the  long  swell  that  came  down  from 
the  northwest,  and  the  canoe  began  to 
labor  and  to  take  in  water,  which  was 
baled  out  with  abalone  shells  whose  holes 
or  openings  had  been  stopped  with  tar  or 
asphaltum  found  along  shore.  Finally, 
after  paddling  several  hours,  Torqua  cried : 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    CAVE.  37 

"There  is  Pimug-na,  Santa  Catalina,1  as 
you  call  it,  my  home.  See  it,  Don  Arturo ! 
See  it,  Don  Raphael !  " 

The  boys,  resting  on  their  paddles,  looked 
in  the  direction  indicated  and  could  make 
out,  faintly  outlined  against  the  sky,  a  big 
black  mass  rising  from  the  sea,  still  a  long 
way  off.  But  Torqua,  who  knew  every 
point  and  hill,  and  could  tell  the  name  of  this 
mountain  and  of  that,  pointed  out  the  twin 
peaks,  the  highest  in  the  island,  where  his 
people  built  big  fires  at  times  as  a  signal 
to  their  friends  on  shore,  or  as  a  feast  to 
the  god  Chinigchinich. 

"  Think  you  they  have  missed  us,  Tor- 
qua ?  "  asked  Raphael. 

"  No,  not  unless  some  inspector  has  gone 
the  rounds.  In  that  case  they  will  soon 
be  after  us." 

1  Santa  Catalina  is  a  mountainous  island  about  twenty 
miles  off  shore  in  Los  Angeles  County,  California.  It  is 
very  abrupt  and  precipitous,  its  highest  peaks  being 
about  2,000  feet  in  height.  It  is  twenty-two  miles  long, 
one  mile  to  seven  miles  wide,  and  contains  55,000 
acres.  The  only  harbors  are  the  mouths  of  canons  on 
it  and  San  Clemente.  The  author  has  located  about 
forty  ancient  towns  or  camp  sites,  and  tons  of  stone 
implements  have  been  taken  from  them. 


38    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

"What  will  they  do?"  asked  Arturo, 
stopping  a  moment  in  his  paddling  and 
looking  astern  into  the  broad  beam  of  sil- 
very light  which  they  seemed  to  be  leaving. 


Site  of  Old  Indian  Town. 

"  Why,"  replied  Torqua,  "  when  my 
brother  ran  away  to  the  ranch eria  at  Kin- 
kipar,  what  you  call  San  Clemente,  they 
put  Zizu  on  his  track.  Zizii  has,  the 
shaman  *  says,  a  scent  like  a  dog.  You 
blindfold  him,  turn  him  around  three,  four 
times,  and  he  is  away,  always  in  the  right 
direction ;  and  they  say  he  scents  his  game, 
but  I  doubt  this,"  said  Torqua  wisely. 

1  Medicine  man. 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    CAVE.  39 

"  He  is  an  Apache  from  the  desert,  and 
they  are,  so  my  father  tells  me,  skilled  in 
following  an  enemy  by  the  trail,  and  I  am 
sure  that  this  is  the  way  Zizu  finds  his  prey. 
Did  you  not  notice  when  I  came  down  I 
kept  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills  in  the  gravel 
rather  than  in  the  soft  bed  of  the  arroyo  ? 
It  was  because  I  was  afraid  we  might  leave 
our  footprints  too  clearly  for  Zizu,  and  he 
may  find  us  yet.  The  major-domo  will 
offer  him  a  bottle  of  Castilian  wine  and  he 
will  sell  himself  for  that ;  for  this  he  is 
called  Zizu,  the  devil." 

The  mountains  were  fast  rising ;  they 
were  nearing  the  island.  The  eastern  sky 
had  taken  on  a  vermilion  tint,  the  clouds 
were  ablaze  with  the  splendors  of  the  com- 
ing day,  but  long  before  the  boys  had  be- 
come weary  and  nodded  at  their  work. 
As  daylight  made  itself  evident  they  were 
aroused  by  a  cry  from  Torqua. 

"  We  are  followed !  Zizu  is  on  our 
track.  See !  see !  "  and,  standing  up,  he 
pointed  away  to  the  east. 

Raphael  and  Arturo  rose  stinTy  to  their 
feet  and  followed  the  direction  of  his 


40    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

finger.  Just  visible,  a  mere  speck  corning 
out  of  the  gloom,  they  could  make  out  a 
canoe. 

"  It  is  the  boat  of  the  major-domo/'  said 
Torqua,  "  and  in  it  are  twenty  men  ;  they 
would  not  trust  Indians.  Why  did  I  for- 
get to  crush  a  hole  through  her !  That 
would  have  kept  them  back." 

The  boat  was  a  large  one,  and  that  she 
was  gaining  on  them  rapidly  there  could 
be  no  doubt. 

"  Can  they  catch  us  ?  "  asked  Raphael, 
gazing  at  the  long  stretch  still  between 
them  and  the  island.  "  We  are  still  half  a 
league  away." 

"  They  must  not,"  said  Torqua,  an  ex- 
pression of  grim  determination  settling  over 
his  dark  features.  "  We  must  work  for 
our  lives." 

He  thrust  his  hands  into  the  sea,  dip- 
ping up  water,  with  which  he  bathed  his 
head,  the  two  boys  following  suit ;  then 
again  taking  up  their  paddles,  they  sent 
the  canoe  flying  over  the  waters.  For  a 
while  not  a  word  was  said,  the  swish, 
swish  of  the  paddles  as  they  cut  the  blue 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    CAYE.  41 

water  and  the  hard,  labored  breathing  of 
the  boys  being  the  only  sounds.  But  it 
was  evident  that  the  boat  was  gaining  on 
them.  Presently  they  could  make  her  out ; 
she  was  filled  with  men. 

"What  is  that?"  said  Arturo,  as  a 
sound  like  the  churning  of  waters  or  the 
rush  of  a  mighty  wind  through  leaves  be- 
came plainly  audible. 

"Alala!1  it's  the  wind  coming,"  replied 
Torqua,  "  the  west  wind.  The  wind  god  has 
favored  us,  and  if  I  reach  the  shore  I  will 
take  many  birds  to  Chinigchinich.  It  will 
reach  them  in  a  few  moments,  a  heavy  sea, 
driving  them  back;  but  we  are  too  far  in." 

It  was  as  Torqua  predicted.  The  sound 
increased,  changing  to  a  roar  ;  then  a  long 
line  of  foam  was  seen  stretched  like  a 
low  wall  across  the  channel.  Presently  it 
reached  them,  and  the  canoe  was  leaping 
and  tossing  uneasily  in  the  foaming  waters  ; 
yet  they  were  only  on  the  edge  and  they 
saw  farther  out  a  heavy  sea  sweeping  on, 
which  soon  encompassed  the  pursuing  boat 
—  a  friendly  ally  to  beat  it  back. 

1  An  exclamation  equivalent  to  "  Oho.'* 


42     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

"  The  wind  god  is  going  to  save  us," 
said  Torqua,  "  but  they  are  very  near/' 

The  boys  could  now  see  the  men  plainly, 
and  the*  soldier  in  the  bow  held  up  his  gun 
as  though  he  would  fire. 

"  We  cannot  reach  the  rancheria  where 
I  wished  to  land  at  the  bay,"  said  Torqua ; 
"  it  is  half  a  mile  farther,  but  we  will  de- 
ceive them.  I  will  show  them  that  Torqua 
knows  something." 

They  were  now  very  near  the  island, 
whose  green  slopes  rose  from  abrupt  rocky 
shores,  culminating  in  high  hills  or  moun- 
tains, but  nowhere  could  the  boys  see  a 
landing-place ;  everywhere  beetling  cliffs 
and  rocks,  against  which,  in  places,  the 
sea  broke,  to  be  tossed  back  in  white  masses 
of  foam.  The  boys  were  so  exhausted  with 
paddling  that  they  were  ready  to  give  out ; 
their  arms  and  sides  were  stiff  and  had 
lost  feeling,  and  they  began  to  feel  drowsy. 
But  Torqua,  older,  hardier,  encouraged  them 
with  word  and  gesture. 

"  We  are  safe,"  he  cried.  "  I  will  show 
them  a  trick ;  Torqua  will  win.  One 
more  —  hard  —  so  —  keep  it  up  —  again, 
Don  Arturo  —  good  !  Don  Raphael." 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    CAVE.  43 

The  paddles  flew.  The  boys,  encouraged 
by  the  words  of  their  Indian  guide  and 
friend,  made  a  last  effort,  and  threw  all 
their  strength  into  the  work.  The  rocks 
were  just  ahead  of  them,  an  abrupt  sea 
wall  one  hundred  feet  high  ;  the  big  boat 
of  the  major-domo  not  one  hundred  yards 
away. 

66  Stop  !  "  shouted  an  officer  in  the  bow. 
"  Stop  !  you  will  be  drowned.  Stop  !  or  I 
will  fire." 

"  Alala !  "  shouted  back  Torqua  in  de- 
rision. 

Directly  ahead  was  what  appeared  to  be 
a  hole  in  the  face  of  the  rock,  a  great 
shallow  cave,  into  which  the  sea  was  tum- 
bling with  a  loud  roar,  the  foam  leaping 
upward  to  the  very  roof,  running  back 
down  the  green  and  colored  sides  with 
strange  lights.  Into  this  seeming  mael- 
strom Torqua  urged  the  canoe  with  a  shout 
of  defiance. 

"  Once  more  —  once  more  and  we  are 
safe  !  "  he  cried. 

The  boat  of  the  Spaniards  was  not  two 
hundred  feet  behind  when  the  soldiers,  ap- 


44     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

palled  at  the  threatened  disaster,  stopped 
rowing  and  the  officer  in  the  stern  shouted  : 
"  Stop,   you    fools !      Do    you    wish   to 
drown  ?     Stop  !  " 


Blue  Cavern  Opening  to  Tunnel. 

The  cries  of  the  men  were  lost  in  the 
roar  and  reverberation  at  the  eatrance  of 
the  cave,  and  as  the  Spanish  boat  rounded 
to  and  backed,  the  canoe,  on  the  crest  of  a 
wave,  rushed  into  the  seething  waters  to 
seeming  destruction. 

To  the    Spanish  officers   she  seemed    to 


THE    MYSTERIOUS    CAVE.  45 

strike  the  abrupt  wall  and  be  swallowed 
up,  as  she  disappeared  as  though  the  rock 
had  opened  and  closed  over  her.  In  truth, 
this  was  what  happened.  The  boys  had 
asked  no  questions.  Their  faith  in  Tor- 
qua  was  sublime,  and  with  the  strength  of 
desperation  they  had  paddled  on,  into  the 
very  face  of  seeming  death,  sending  the 
canoe  into  the  breaking  seas,  where  for  a 
moment  she  was  tossed  about  almost  end 
for  end,  then  they  found  themselves  in  a 
large  but  shallow  cave..  A  small  beach  of 
stories  was  visible  as  the  water  drew  hiss- 
ing back,  and  on  to  this  Torqua  leaped, 
now  waist  deep,  as  a  sea  came  in,  strug- 
gling, wrestling  with  the  waters,  then 
with  a  desperate  effort  he  braced  against 
it  and  turned  the  canoe  at  right  angles, 
and  to  their  amazement  the  boys  saw  a 
narrow  tunnel  with  light  ahead. 

"  Push  hard  !  "  shouted  Torqua  amid  the 
roar  of  the  seas. 

Again  the  paddles  struck  the  water,  and, 
leaping  into  the  canoe,  the  Indian  forced 
it  ahead,  and  in  a  few  seconds  they  were 
gliding  along  in  a  dark  tunnel  beneath 


46    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

• 

the  island  shore,  so  narrow  that  the  boys 
could  not  use  their  paddles  and  so  pushed 
it  along  by  hand  on  the  wet  wall  of  stone. 
The  water  was  smooth  excepting  when  every 
few  moments  a  wave  would  come  coursing 
through,  which  would  lift  the  canoe  to  the 
roof  so  that  they  had  to  lie  down  ;  but 
aside  from  this  they  were  perfectly  safe. 
Torqua  pushed  the  boat  on  for  some  dis- 
tance, then  turned  it  to  the  left  and  hauled 
it  close  to  the  west  wall,  where  there  was 
an  indentation  about  the  size  of  the  boat, 
concealing  her  from  the  view  of  any  one 
who  might  look  through  the  tunnel. 

"  We  are  safe,"  said  Torqua,  a  look  of 
satisfaction  settling  over  his  dark  face, 
"  but  we  must  not  stay  here  at  high  water ; 
it  is  not  what  you  call  dry.  I  will  swim 
out  and  look,,  and  if  they  are  not  in  the 
way  we  will  push  out  this  entrance." 

So  saying,  the  Indian  lowered  himself 
into  the  water  and  carefully  swam  on,  then 
diving  at  the  entrance,  came  up  under 
some  kelp  leaves  that  formed  a  floating 
mat  at  the  opening,  and  glanced  around  the 
bend  with  all  the  skill  of  a  sea  lion,  which 


THE   MYSTERIOUS    CAVE.  47 

he  had  often  seen  perform  the  same  trick. 
As  he  expected,  the  men  were  lying  on 
their  oars,  holding  a  consultation  and  drift- 
ing down  the  coast  before  the  heavy  wind, 
and  were  now  an  eighth  of  a  mile  away. 

He  swam- back  to  the  canoe,  which  was 
now  shoved  along  the  narrow  cave  or 
tunnel,  and  with  a  powerful  push  sent  out 
into  daylight  again.  The  boys  then  fully 
appreciated  the  trick  Torqua  had  played 
upon  the  Spaniards.  The  cave  had  two 
openings,  the  small  entrance  leading  into 
a  large  bay  around  a  point.  The  canoe 
was  urged  along  the  rocky  shores,  while 
the  Spaniards  were  not  three  hundred 
yards  away  watching  for  the  wreck  to 
float  out,  thinking  that  the  craft  had  been 
ground  to  pieces  in  the  hole  in  the  wall. 
On  flew  the  canoe,  the  boys  filled  with  new 
vigor ; and  enthusiasm,  now  entering  a  wide 
bay,  the  "  isthmus,"  where  they  could  see, 
half  a  mile  away,  the  beehive-like  huts  of  a 
large  Indian  town.  But  Torqua  was  not 
going  there.  He  knew  that  the  Spaniards 
would  run  in  there  before  they  left,  so  he 
turned  suddenly  and  directed  the  canoe 


48    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

into  another  cave,  which  the  sea  had  eaten 
into  the  white  chalk.  As  she  stranded 
they  leaped  over  and  hauled  her  up  on  a 
little  shelf  out  of  sight.  Then  Torqua 
waded  out  and,  followed  by  the  others, 
swam  along  the  rocks,  avoiding  the  kelp, 
and  turned  into  a  little  bay  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  rancheria.  Here  they  landed, 
and,  Torqua  leading  the  way,  they  quickly 
ran  up  over  the  sandy  beach  and  disap- 
peared in  the  mouth  of  a  deep  and  well- 
wooded  canon  that,  like  a  river,  seemed  to 
wind  its  way  up  into  the  distant  mountains. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    FLIGHT    OVER    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

ONCE  in  the  seclusion  of  the  brush, 
the  boys  threw  themselves  upon  the 
ground,  as  Torqua  said  they  could  rest  a 
short  time.  They  were  in  the  bed  of  a  moun- 
tain stream  filled  with  polished  boulders, 
about  which  grew  luxuriantly  ferns  and 
brakes.  The  air  was  warm  and  fragrant 
with  the  odor  of  trees  and  shrubs  in  blos- 
som. The  songs  of  mocking-birds,  wild 
canaries,  and  other  birds  came  sweetly  on 
the  wind,  and  the  boys  could  almost  be- 
lieve they  were  in  a  fairyland.  They  were 
wet,  weary,  lame,  and  very  hungry,  yet 
were  so  excited,  so  joyous  over  their  nar- 
row escape,  that  they  seemed  to  forget  it 
all ;  and  when  Torqua  rose,  they  sprang  to 
their  feet  and,  following  his  example,  se- 
lected stout  clubs  and  prepared  to  climb  up 
the  bed  of  the  stream. 


50    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

"  Some  of  my  people  live  over  there,"  he 
said,  "  but  the  soldiers  will  go  to  the  ran- 
cheria,  Sonag-na,  and  if  it  were  known  that 
we  were  here  they  might  frighten  some  one 
into  giving  us  up ;  so  we  will  go  to  a  safe 
place  I  know  over  in  the  island  where  we 
can  live  until  they  are  gone,  which  I  can 
tell  by  creeping  out  on  the  cliff  at  night. 
Can  you  walk  and  climb  a  league  ? "  he 
asked,  looking  at  his  Spanish  companions. 

"Yes,  ten  leagues,  Torqua,"  said  Arturo. 
"  You  have  saved  us,  kind  friend,  and  we 
will  follow  anywhere." 

"  Good  ! "  Torqua  said  with  a  laugh. 
"Good !  You  are  what  I  like.  You  make 
good  Indian  —  never  get  tired  —  walk, 
hunt,  fight,  ride  all  the  time  ;  "  and  picking 
up  the  club  that  he  had  dropped,  he  turned 
upward  into  the  mountains. 

The  arroyo  bed  led  up  at  a  sharp  angle 
here  and  it  was  hard  climbing  for  the  boys 
over  the  stones  and  gravel  ;  now  creeping 
beneath  the  low  brush,  lying  for  a  moment 
on  their  backs  to  take  breath,  watching 
the  bright-eyed  lizards,  worming  their  way 
through  a  jungle  of  branches,  rising  higher 


THE    FLIGHT    OVER    THE    MOUNTAINS.       51 

and  higher,  until  they  reached  a  spot  through 
which  they  could  see  the  blue  ocean,  and  far 
below  the  boat  of  the  Spaniards.  The  men 
were  pulling  hard  against  the  gale  and,  as 
Torqua  said,  making  for  the  isthmus  harbor, 
or  the  town  of  Soriag-na,  where  they  would 
find  smooth  water  and  where  they  would 
remain  for  the  night  at  least. 

"  We  shall  be  far  away,"  said  Torqua, 
"  when  they  land." 

They  continued  their  climb,  always  keep- 
ing to  the  bed  of  the  stream  and  under  the 
brush,  which  was  a  hardship,  as  the  boys 
could  see  that  on  either  side  of  them  was 
clear  and  smooth  walking.  At  last  they 
came  to  the  head  of  the  canon,  beyond 
which  was  an  exposed  place  of  two  hun- 
dred feet  to  the  ridge.  Here,  crouching 
low,  they  waited  until  the  boat,  which  now 
seemed  almost  beneath  them,  was  out  of 
sight  behind  a  ledge  ;  then  they  crawled 
along  until  they  reached  the  divide  and 
safety,  where,  with  the  mountains  between 
them  and  their  enemies,  the  boys  rolled 
over  and  over  in  the  very  joy  of  it,  laid  on 
their  backs,  deep  in  the  green  carpet,  look- 


52    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

ing  up  at  the  blue  sky  and  the  warm  winter 
sun,  until  Torqua  again  sprang  to  his  feet, 
saying  they  must  move  on. 

The  island  presented  a  beautiful  appear- 
ance from  the  ledge  on  which  they  were 
standing.  They  were,  perhaps,  eight  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  water  and  almost  over 
the  cave,  and  could  even  toss  stones  into  the 
bay,  so  precipitous  were  the  shores.  To  the 
south  the  coast  line  of  precipices  stretched 
away  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see,  while  to  the 
west  canon  after  canon,  hill  and  mountain, 
appeared  in  a  maze  of  lines  and  convolu- 
tions, and  in  the  centre  of  all  a  great  moun- 
tain with  a  level  top. 

"  We  must  make  that  by  night,"  said 
Torqua,  pointing  to  the  latter. 

Along  the  ridges  the  party  moved, 
picking  their  way  through  patches  of 
cactus  covered  with  large  yellow  blossoms, 
down  the  mountain  side,  using  their  clubs 
to  aid  them,  and  finally  into  a  canon  which 
seemed  to  lead  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
island.  Now  they  passed  through  groves 
of  stunted  oak,  again  along  mountain  sides 
covered  with  the  cactus,  ever  walled  in  by 


THE    FLIGHT    OVER   THE    MOUNTAINS.       53 

mountains.  Finally  Torqua  pointed  far 
below  to  some  bunches  of  tussock-grass, 
the  site  of  a  big  spring. 

"  I  am  nearly  famished  for  a  drink," 
said  Raphael. 

"  I,  too,"  said  Arturo.  "  My  mouth  is 
as  dry  as  a  bean-pod  ;  and  not  better  for 
eating  a  tuna  with  the  spines  half  picked." 

They  were  skirting  a  long  canon  and  fre- 
quently came  in  view  of  a  small  winding 
stream,  with  here  and  there  a  pool  col- 
lected in  the  rocks,  glistening  in  the  sun. 
They  were  soon  by  its  side,  and,  picking 
up  an  abalone  which  some  Indian  had  left 
there,  they  drank  in  turn. 

"  You  see  my  people  have  been  here," 
said  Torqua,  as  he  indicated  several  ves- 
sels or  bowls  with  grinding  stones  that  lay 
near  by,  with  a  heap  of  broken  abalones. 
"  This  is  a  small  camp.  This  is  what  we 
will  grind  our  acorns  and  abalones  in." 

Refreshed  by  the  water,  they  walked  on 
for  three  or  four  miles,  seeing  evidences  of 
Indians  in  shells  and  stone  dishes  along 
the  stream,  but  meeting  no  one. 

"  Now,"  said  Torqua,  as  they  came  to  a 


54          THE   ADVENTURES    OF   TORQUA. 

grove  of  small  trees,  "  we  must  take  to  the 
mountain  ridge  again  until  we  pass  the  two 
harbors,1  as  there  is  a  town,  Toybipet.  You 
can  see  it  from  here,"  and  he  led  his  com- 
panions out  on  a  little  mesa  and  showed 
them,  two  miles  distant,  the  ocean  on  the 
southwest  side  of  the  island  and  two  per- 
fect harbors,  with  a  point  between,  and 
beyond  a  broad,  flat  mesa,  on  top  of  which 
could  be  seen  the  huts  of  Torqua's  people. 

"  Many  a  time  have  I  fished  there,"  said 
the  Indian.  u  The  abalones  are  plenty  all 
about,  the  big  limpet  is  piled  deep  in  lines, 
and,  as  for  fish,  you  can  pull  them  in  so 
fast  and  so  big  that  you  will  get  weary 
hauling  at  them." 

"  I  do  not  think  I  should  ever  get  tired 
fishing,"  said  Raphael. 

"  Nor  I,"  joined  in  Arturo.  "  I  never 
went  but  once,  and  I  have  had  a  fever  for 
fishing  ever  since." 

"  That  is  the  way  we  live  here,"  said 
Torqua ;  "  fish  — fish  —  hunt  sea  lion,  aba- 
lone,  wild  goat  —  but  mostly  fish  ;  and 
such  fish !  as  long  as  a  man.  You  have 

1  Now  known  as  Little  Harbor. 


THE    FLIGHT    OVER   THE    MOUNTAINS.       55 

never  seen  what  you  call  caballa1?"  he 
asked.  "  No  ?  Ah,  then  you  have  some- 
thing to  see." 

"  No,"  replied  Raphael.  "  You  see,  Tor- 
qua,  in  our  country  we  lived  in  the  interior 
by  a  small  stream,  where  the  fish  were 
hardly  as  large  as  your  thumb ;  these  we 
caught  with  a  willow,  a  string,  and  a  bent 
wire,  with  grasshoppers  as  a  lure." 

"As  big  as  your  thumb!"  replied  Tor- 
qua ;  "  and  you  call  that  fish  ?  Ah,  but 
wait !  I  shall  show  you  fishing  that  is 
fishing." 

He  now  turned  to  the  bed  of  a  canon 
that  led  them  up  on  to  the  mountain, 
affording  them  concealment,  and  when 
high  up,  they  stepped  over  the  divide, 
where  Torqua  said  no  people  lived,  as  it 
was  too  rocky,  steep,  and  dry.  They  were 
on  the  side  of  a  precipice  so  abrupt  that, 
had  they  made  a  false  step,  they  might 
have  rolled  down  hundreds  of  feet  into  the 
deep  canon.  As  the  boys  passed  along  the 
narrow  trail,  evidently  made  by  Indians 
and  wild  goats,  they  stopped  now  and  then 

1  Tuna  or  horse  mackerel;  also  tunny. 


56     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

to  view  the  remarkable  sight.  Below  them 
a  deep  abyss,  winding  canons,  the  rocky 
coast  line,  then  the  blue  channel ;  while 
beyond  was  the  mainland  from  whence 
they  came,  the  Sierras,  capped  with  snow, 
rising,  like  sentinels,  here  and  there.  They 
crept  around  jutting  points,  scrambled  over 
a  mountain,  down  whose  slopes  a  river  of 
rocks  seemed  to  have  formed,  and  finally 
came  upon  a  band  of  wild  goats.  The 
animals  glanced  at  them  and  then  bounded 
away,  creating  little  avalanches  down  the 
steep  sides.  At  the  foot  of  a  steep  moun- 
tain Torqua  turned  to  the  west  again,  and 
as  they  sprang  over  an  exposed  divide,  the 
boys  saw  before  them  a  deep  and  beautiful 
canon,  filled  with  cotton-wood  trees  and 
shrubs,  while  the  slopes  which  reached 
away  from  it  were  green  with  native 
grasses,  with  patches  here  and  there  of 
gold,  yellow,  purple,  and  red,  the  wild 
flowers  of  this  isle  of  summer.  Torqua 
uttered  a  cry  of  delight  as  he  saw  it ;  in- 
deed, every  hill  and  canon  appeared  to  have 
a  special  significance.  Here  he  had  killed 
a  large  eagle;  there  it  was  that  the  big 


THE    FLIGHT    OVER   THE    MOUNTAINS.       57 

goat  had  turned  upon  him  and  rolled  him 
down.  At  this  crag  the  Indians  from  the 
North,  the  Tshuma,  had  made  a  stand,  and 
Torqua  pointed  out  the  little  cave  where 
he,  his  mother  and  brothers  and  sisters 
had  been  concealed  for  days,  until  the 
enemy  was  driven  away. 

"  I  would  n't  mind  a  piece  of  jerked  beef," 
said  Arturo,  who  began  to  feel  the  pangs 
of  hunger. 

"  I,  too,"  said  Torqua ;  "  but  when  you 
are  hungry  and  can  get  no  food,  drink 
plenty  of  water ; "  and  suiting  the  action 
to  the  word,  he  threw  himself  down  on  the 
rocks,  leaned  over  a  little  pool,  and  drank 
long  draughts  of  the  clear  spring  water, 
after  which  he  began  to  look  around  and 
finally  dug  some  peculiar  lily-like  plants 
from  the  ground,  which  resembled  onions, 
with  the  husk  of  a  cocoanut.  These  he 
ate,  sharing  them  with  his  companions.  A 
little  farther  on  the  stream  entered  a  cactus 
patch  and  here  they  gathered  tunas,  or  the 
fruit  of  the  prickly-pear,  and  after  scraping 
them  of  their  treacherous  spines  they  ate 
until  their  faces  and  hands  were  colored 


58    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

with  the  deep  red  juice.  Then  they  took 
a  long  rest,  lying  upon  the  dead  leaves 
beneath  a  grove  of  scrub  oaks. 

"  Now  we  are  safe,"  said  Torqua.  "  It 
would  take  a  week  for  the  soldiers  to  find 
us,  even  if  they  knew  where  we  were.  They 
would  climb  the  steep  canons  up  and  down 
and  soon  wear  themselves  out,  while  we 
came  by  trails.  Alala !  but  that  was  a 
trick  we  played  them !  "  and  Torqua  laughed 
heartily.  "  How  far  do  you  think  we  have 
travelled  ?  "  he  asked  Arturo,  who  was  try- 
ing to  mend  his  shoe,  which  had  been  torn 
on  the  sharp,  flint-like  rocks. 

"  A  league,"  said  Raphael. 

"  Yes,  almost  a  league,  and  we  have  half 
a  league  more  to  go  before  we  reach  our 
house." 

"Do  you  really  mean  that  we  are  to 
have  a  house  ?  "  said  Arturo.  "  I  supposed 
we  were  to  live  in  a  cave." 

"It  is  a  cave  house,"  replied  Torqua. 
"  My  people  have  used  it  for  years,  but 
only  when  they  were  fishing  at  that  point 
and  it  came  on  to  rain  and  lasted  several 
days.  Then  they  lived  there,  though  at 


THE    FLIGHT    OVER   THE    MOUNTAINS.        59 

times  when  I  was  a  what  you  call  muchdcho 1 
we  lived  there  for  some  time.  It  is  the 
best  hiding-place  on  the  island." 

Later  the  march  was  taken  up  again, 
ever  keeping  to  the  canon  bed,  to  avoid 
meeting  with  any  one.  But  the  canon 
widened  out  and  was  now  a  deep  valley,  in 
the  centre  of  which  the  stream  ran  six  or 
eight  feet  below  the  surface,  sometimes 
visible,  again  plunging  beneath  the  sands 
and  flowing  on  beneath  the  soil  to  the  dis- 
tant sea,  to  emerge  again  in  some  cool  spot 
among  the  rocks  and  trees.  Groves  of 
cotton-wood  trees  were  passed,  little  glades 
in  which  the  wild  grasses  grew  high  and 
where  Torqua  said  he  had  often  slept  after 
the  grass  had  turned  into  hay  and  was  dry 
and  warm.  Never  was  there  such  a  place 
for  camping  out,  in  the  modern  sense, 
never  such  a  land  for  beauties  of  situation, 
for  new  wonders  and  marvels.  Now  the 
boys  started  back  in  surprise  as  the  roar  of 
wings  struck  their  ears,  —  the  California 
partridge  which  occurred  here  in  thou- 
sands; now  it  was  the  wild  dove  which 


60    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

whistled  across  their  pathwa}7,  or  gave  its 
mournful  note.  Everywhere,  though  miles 
from  the  sea,  they  saw  bits  of  the  shells 
of  abalones,  which  Torqua  said  his  peo- 
ple had  brought  to  eat.  At  every  turn 
they  expected  to  come  upon  Indians,  but 
by  mere  good  fortune  they  did  not.  Sud- 
denly Torqua  stopped  and  held  up  his  hand 
and  bade  them  listen.  They  could  hear 
the  song  of  birds,  the  hum  of  insect  life, 
the  whispering  of  the  leaves,  or  ears  (nanah) 
as  Torqua  called  them,  like  music,  and 
above  all  a  low,  musical,  booming  sound. 

"  It  is  the  surf  beating  on  the  beach  at 
the  foot  of  the  Whispering  Leaf  Canon," 
Torqua  explained.  "  The  sand  is  white, 
and  where  the  canon  stream  flows  in  there 
is  a  rocky  ledge  with  masses  of  ferns,  over 
which  the  water  flows.  There  we  will 
have  a  house  when  we  go  fishing.  Our 
house  is  above  us  over  the  divide.  Come." 

What  had  appeared  to  the  boys  to  be  a 
solid  wall  of  brush,  rising  almost  directly 
upward,  they  now  saw  contained  a  trail 
that  had  been  used  for  a  long  time.  It 
zigzagged  up  the  mountain  and  was  very 


THE    FLIGHT    OVER   THE    MOUNTAINS.       61 

steep.  Up  this  they  went,  and  from  here 
it  was  seen  that  they  had  passed  around 
the  two  harbors.  The  boys  could  now  see 
the  rancheria  from  the  south  facing  the 
sea,  and  near  it  wide  green  slopes.  On 
they  climbed  until  they  came  to  the  divide. 
Torqua  had  looked  carefully  around,  as 
they  were  now  obliged  to  cross  an  open 
place,  the  ridge  of  Mount  Orizaba,  as  it 
extended  away  to  the  sea.  Not  a  living 
thing  was  in  sight,  but  following  Torqua's 
example  and  crouching  low,  the  boys  moved 
rapidly  along  until  they  reached  a  clump 
of  cactus,  where  they  rose  and  looked  over. 
To  their  amazement  they  saw  a  tall  human 
figure,  standing  back  to  them,  looking  at 
the  distant  sea. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE    CAVERN. 

THE  boys  were  almost  paralyzed  at 
the  sight  of  the  strange  figure,  but 
Torqua  dropped  flat  upon  the  ground, 
motioning  to  them  to  do  the  same,  and 
whispered  to  them  not  to  move,  as  perhaps 
the  man,  who  was  a  shaman,  or  rain  doctor, 
would  not  notice  them.  They  were  at  least 
thirty  feet  from  him,  a  clump  of  cactus 
intervening,  yet  through  the  great  spine- 
covered  leaves  and  yellow  blossoms  they 
could  see  the  Indian,  who  was  dressed  in 
a  strange  garb  of  feathers  and  who  now 
began  to  chant  a  weird  song ;  then  he 
threw  some  sand  in  the  direction  of  the 
sea,  blew  upon1  a  bone  whistle,  and  to  their 
relief  slowly  moved  on  without  looking 
behind. 

"  He  is  asking  the  god  Chinigchinich  for 
rain,"  whispered  Torqua,  with  suppressed 


THE    CAVERN.  63 

excitement.       "  To-morrow    it    rain,    you 


see." 


He  raised  his  head  to  the  level  of  the 
cactus,  and  as  the  boys  followed  suit  they 
saw  the  rain-maker  pass  slowly  down  into 
the  deep  canon  which  led  to  the  rancheria 
at  the  two  harbors,  ever  and  anon  raising 
his  arms  in  accompaniment  to  the  monot- 
onous wailing  cry.  When  he  finally  dis- 
appeared in  the  brush  they  came  out  from 
their  concealment  and  slipped  over  the  ridge. 

From  here  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach 
was  seen  a  jumble  of  mountain  peaks,  their 
slopes  sometimes  clear,  again  covered  with 
patches  of  green,  and  in  the  immediate 
foreground  a  well-wooded  canon  which 
wound  about  among  rocky  points  and  high 
cliffs,  so  finding  its  way  to  the  distant  sea. 
Immediately  in  front  of  where  the  boys 
stopped  to  view  the  scene,  but  a  hundred 
feet  below,  rose  an  irregular  mass  of  rocks 
almost  as  high  as  a  cathedral,  with  several 
spires. 

"  This  is  the  place,"  said  Torqua.  "  Is 
it  not  beautiful  ?  Did  you  ever  see  rocks 
piled  in  such  a  way  ?  " 


64  THE    ADVENTURES    OP    TORQUA. 

The  boys  admitted  they  had  not,  but 
they  could  not  see  where  the  house  was. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Torqua,  "  this  is  the  back  ; 
but  we  must  wait  and  see  if  it  is  empty. 
Do  you  stay  here  while  I  crawl  over  and 
look  in." 

From  between  two  great  boulders  they 
watched  him  climb  slowly  and  carefully 
out  upon  the  rocks,  moving  on  all  fours 
like  a  lizard ;  now  stopping  to  listen,  then 
crawling  along  again.  Now  he  disap- 
peared, and  a  few  moments  later  they  saw 
him  upon  the  topmost  peak,  where  he 
clung,  lying  flat.  He  remained  there  some 
time  it  seemed  to  the  boys,  but  in  reality 
only  a  few  moments.  Then  he  rose  to  his 
feet,  waved  his  hand  at  them  from  the 
dizzy  height,  and  came  back,  leaping  from 
point  to  point  with  all  the  agility  of  a  wild 
goat. 

"  Come,"  he  said,  breathing  hard ;  "  no 
one  there." 

He  led  the  way  around  the  lofty  pile, 
lowering  himself  from  rock  to  rock,  then 
leaping  to  the  ground,  running,  half  sliding 
down  the  steep  slope,  came  to  a  thick 


THE    CA.YERN.  65 

growth  of  cactus,  in  the  midst  of  which 
was  a  heap  of  gleaming  abalone  shells  that 
caught  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  sent  a  thou- 
sand flashes  of  color  into  the  air.  There 
was  a  narrow  trail  leading  directly  through 
it  and  into  this  he  turned,  and  stood  before 
the  entrance  of  a  cleft  in  the  rock  that  ex- 
tended forty  or  fifty  feet  from  the  edge  of 
an  overhanging  ledge. 

u  A  regular  cavern  !  "  exclaimed  Arturo. 

"  A  cave,  a  dungeon  !  "  echoed  Raphael. 
"  Torqua,"  he  continued,  "  in  Spain,  the 
bandits  upon  the  Sierra  Morena  have  just 
such  places  to  hide  their  treasure." 

"  My  people  have  lived  here  for  years, 
and  other  people  before  them/'  replied  Tor- 
qua  proudly.  "  The  hardest  rain  never 
reaches  in ;  and  in  the  great  battle  that 
my  grandfather,  the  chief,  fought,  they 
made  their  stand  here  and  the  wild  people 
from  the  North  never  took  it.  You  see," 
he  said,  with  the  ardor  and  instinct  of  a 
soldier,  pointing  down  the  slope,  "  the  pile 
commands  the  whole  country,  and  no  one 
would  ever  think  that  there  was  a  cave 
here." 

5 


66     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

"  That  is  true,"  assented  Arturo.  "  You 
never  would  see  it  until  you  reach  the 
entrance." 

"See  the  mark  of  rny  people/'  added 
Torqua,  pointing  to  a  sun-like  mark  on 
the  entrance,  in  red  paint.  "  That  means 
6  Welcome.'  So  I  say  to  you  Don  Arturo 
and  Don  Raphael,  welcome  to  my  people's 
home ;  and  when  the  Spaniards  leave,  when 
they  get  tired  hunting  us  or  finding  out 
how  we  died,  they  will  give  you  welcome 
too." 

Entering  the  cave,  they  found  the  floor 
made  of  soft  brown  earth  sprinkled  with 
the  broken  shells  of  the  abalone ;  on  the 
side  were  several  stone  ollas  or  mortar- 
shaped  urns  with  round  stones  for  grind- 
ing, and  with  them  a  big  flat  stone  worn 
to  a  polished  surface.  The  room  was  suf- 
ficiently large  to  hold  ten  or  twelve  persons 
if  crowded,  but  was  better  adapted  for  a 
few.  Around  one  side  Torqua  pointed  out 
a  smaller  cave,  the  sides  of  which  were 
blackened  with  smoke  where  the  Indians 
had  built  a  fire,  and  he  explained  that  it 
was  the  cooking  place. 


THE    CAVERN.  67 

u  It  is  almost  as  I  left  it,"  he  said. 
"See!"  and  from  beneath  a  shelving  rock 
he  drew  out  armfuls  of  dried  grass  or  hay 
and  spread  it  on  the  floor  for  beds. 

"  All  ready  made,"  said  Arturo. 

"  Yes ;  and  look!"  Dropping  upon  his 
knees,  the  Indian  youth  began  scraping  in 
the  dust  and  soon  unearthed  a  number  of 
spearheads  six  or  seven  inches  long,  made 
of  black  flint ;  then  some  arrowheads,  a 
bow,  and  a  wooden  throwing  club,  boome- 
rang or  macdna.  "  I  hid  them  here  before 
they  took  me  to  the  mission,"  he  explained. 
"  To-morrow  we  will  make  more  bows  and 
spear  handles,  and  the  door  to  the  cave." 

"  A  door!  "  repeated  Arturo. 

"Yes,"  replied  Torqua;  "not  like  the 
big  mission  doors,  but  one  that  will  keep 
out  the  cold  night  wind." 

"  But  where  is  the  wood  ? "  asked 
Raphael. 

"  You  are  looking  at  it,"  said  Torqua, 
laughing.  "  The  tuna  growing  there  is  the 
door,  and  all  the  supper  we  will  get  to- 
night. Do  you,  Don  Arturo,  pick  a  lot  of 
tunas,  the  red  ones,  scrape  off  the  spines 


68    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

with  this  knife/'  handing  him  a  long,  slen- 
der flint  flake  from  the  treasures  he  had 
dug  up,  which  had  a  wooden  handle  bound 
to  it  with  hide,  "  while  Don  Raphael  and  I 
go  for  water  to  the  arroyo  below." 

Arturo  began  the  work  of  picking,  while 
Torqua,  after  a  short  hunt  among  the 
bushes,  brought  out  two  finely  formed  ves- 
sels or  ollas  of  soapstone,  which  he  said 
he  had  made.  Giving  one  to  Raphael  they 
started  down  the  hill,  at  the  bottom  of 
which  in  the  canon  a  stream  of  pure  water 
ran  silently  along  toward  the  sea,  whose 
roar  could  be  distinctly  heard. 

As  they  stooped  over  to  fill  the  ollas, 
Torqua  whispered  a  warning. 

Looking  up,  Raphael  saw,  just  beyond 
them,  a  little  glade  where  the  earth  seemed 
to  be  covered  with  birds  with  jaunty  plumes.1 
Taking  his  throwing  club  from  his  belt, 
Torqua,  with  scarcely  any  effort,  sent  it 
whirling  over  the  bushes  into  their  midst, 
and  as  the  roar  of  their  wings  sounded,  he 
dashed  after  them  and  picked  up  several 
that  he  had  disabled. 

1  California  partridge. 


THE    CAVERN.  69 

"  Hunting  is  easy  here/'  he  said,  as  he 
fastened  the  birds  together  with  a  whisp  of 
willow.  "  One  each." 

Having  filled  the  ollas,  they  started  up 
the  hill,  taking  many  rests  before  they 
reached  the  cave,  where  Arturo  had  a  pile 
of  tunas  and  with  a  wry  face  was  picking 
the  minute  javelins  from  his  fingers. 

"Will  you,  Don  Raphael,  pick  the 
birds,"  said  Torqua,  flinging  them  down, 
"while  I  start  the  fire?" 

"  I  should  like  to  know  how  you  are  to 
build  a  fire  without  coals,"  said  Arturo, 
"  though  I  believe  you  have  almost  every- 
thing in  this  cave ;  it 's  like  the  magic 
cavern  we  used  to  read  about.  You  sit  on 
the  carpet  and  wish,  and  you  have  it." 

"  Easy  enough,"  answered  Torqua,  laugh- 
ing. "  Look  !  "  Taking  some  of  the  driest 
of  the-  hay,  he  crumpled  it  up,  selected  a 
flint  chip,  and  struck  it  against  another 
round  piece  fitted  for  the  hand.  Small 
streaks  of  flame  followed  every  blow,  glanc- 
ing at  the  hay,  and  finally  igniting  it  so 
quickly  that  a  smoke  followed,  which  Tor- 
qua, with  his  breath  and  the  manipulation 


70    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

of  his  fingers,  worked  into  a  blaze.  He 
placed  more  hay  on  this,  blowing  it  care- 
fully, then  some  dry  twigs,  and  carrying 
the  blazing  mass  round  to  the  kitchen 
cave,  produced  a  rousing  fire,  upon  which 
he  barbecued  the  birds,  running  sticks  into 
them,  turning  them  over  and  over  until 
they  were  cooked  and  the  cave  was  filled 
with  the  fragrant  odor.  Then  he  ground 
some  of  the  tunas  on  the  flat  rock,  after 
which  the  boys  sat  down  and  ate  their  first 
meal  in  a  real  cave  of  the  Stone  Age,  with 
the  descendant  of  a  Stone  Age  Indian  as 
their  cook. 

The  sun  was  low  by  this  time.  Bats 
began  to  flit  noiselessly  about ;  the  notes 
of  the  partridge  seemed  to  come  from  all 
about,  and  presently  the  full  moon  rose 
nearly  opposite,  over  the  hills.  The  boys 
piled  up  the  hay  and  grass ;  and  Torqua, 
having  put  up  a  large  branch,  which  he 
had  dragged  up,  between  them  and  the 
entrance,  they  lay  down,  and,  weary  and 
exhausted  after  the  long  day  of  excitement, 
quietly  fell  asleep. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE    SEA    SPIDER. 

THE  sun  was  high  in  the  heavens  and 
blazing  cheerfully  into  the  cave  when 
the  boys  awoke,  but  when  they  arose  they 
were  all  so  stiff  and  foot-sore  that  they  sat 
and  looked  at  one  another  dolefully  for  a 
few  minutes,  Arturo  groaning  aloud  as  he 
attempted  to  move. 

"  It  will  take  a  week  for  us  to  get  over 
that  row  and  walk  over  the  mountains," 
he  said,  looking  at  his  blistered  feet.  "  I 
feel  as  though  I  had  been  pounded." 

"  We  will  eat  what  there  is,"  said  Tor- 
qua,  "  and  then  go  down  to  the  ocean  and 
take  a  swim  ;  that  is  a  good  cure." 

They  divided  the  birds,  ate  some  of  the 
tunas,  and  then  lay  down  again  on  the 
soft  hay,  exhausted  nature  demanding  a 
longer  rest.  But  at  midday  hunger  asserted 
itself  and  they  started  for  the  ocean,  half 


72    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

a  league  away.  Nearly  all  the  way  the 
trail  was  through  an  arbor  of  trees  and 
bushes,  over  big  boulders,  choked  with 
ferns  and  sweet-scented  vines,  while  the 
wild  rose  grew  in  great  clumps,  filling  the 
air  with  fragrance,  and  the  wild  grape  and 
fluffy  clematis  draped  the  tops  of  the  trees. 
They  found  some  willow  trees,  and  Torqua 
broke  off  many  limbs  which  he  proposed  to 
make  into  bows  and  arrows,  and  from  an- 
other tree,  the  iron-wood,  he  took  branches 
to  be  made  into  spear  handles.  They 
finally  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  canon 
where  the  walls  were  high  and  precipitous, 
and  as  they  walked  out  upon  the  sand  dunes 
which  the  sea  had  tossed  up,  a  band  of 
wild  goats  started  up  the  steep  ascent. 

"  We  will  have  one  of  them  in  a  few 
days,"  said  Torqua.  "  As  soon  as  I  can 
make  some  arrows  I  will  show  you  how  to 
bring  them  down ;  also  foxes  and  squirrels 
and  quail." 

Reaching  the  beach,  where  a  fine  surf  was 
rolling  in,  the  boys  took  off  their  clothes 
and  were  soon  beyond  the  breakers,  dis- 
porting in  the  waves;  later  they  lay  on 


THE    SEA    SPIDER.  73 

the  sand  in  the  sun,  drying  and  waiting  for 
the  tide  to  ebb  so  that  they  could  collect 
abalones  and  limpets.  The  beach  above 
the  high-water  mark  was  strewn  with 
wood,  great  trunks  of  trees  worn  smooth 
by  the  sea,  which  Tor  qua  believed  came 
down  from  the  North  in  the  current  which 
set  to  the  South. 

"  All  these  rocks,"  he  said,  pointing  to 
the  ledge  that  was  now  beginning  to  show 
with  its  beard  of  kelp,  "  have  abalones  on 
them ;  and  we  want  the  shell  and  the  meat. 
I  think  we  make  it  now." 

He  started  along  the  sand,  and,  as  the 
waves  receded,  boldly  leaped  upon  the 
weed-covered  rock,  where  Raphael  and 
Arturo  followed  him,  but  not  without 
many  slips  and  falls.  Torqua  had  reached 
down  into  a  pool  and  overturned  a  stone 
amid  the  kelp,  when  up  shot  a  long,  livid 
object,  like  a  snake,  that  waved  violently 
in  the  air.  He  uttered  an  exclamation, 
which  he  used  for  various  occasions, 
"  Alala  !  alala  !  "  and  started  back  ;  then 
he  leaned  forward  and  pounced  upon  some- 
thing and  shouted  for  help  in  half  Spanish, 


74  THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

half  Indian,  "  Seize  it,  Don  Arturo  !  Hit 
it,  Don  Raphael !  Strike  it  on  the  other 
side  with  your  club  —  that's  it." 

The  boys  now  caught  a  glimpse  of  a 
hideous  creature  like  a  spider,  with  long 
arms,  several  of  which  were  wound  about 
Torqua's  wrist,  while  the  others  seized  the 
rock,  evidently  trying  to  reach  the  water. 
But  Raphael  struck  them  with  his  club,  and 
Torqua,  who  had  grasped  the  body,  after  a 
hard  and  exciting  struggle  in  which  he 
rolled  amid  the  kelp-lined  rocks,  tore  the 
animal  from  its  hold,  whereupon  it  threw 
its  long  tentacles  about  his  arm  and  exuded 
a  black  fluid  that  ran  in  rivulets  down 
the  rocks. 

"  It 's  a  sea  spider,1 "  cried  Torqua,  "  good 
to  eat." 

Holding  it  down  upon  the  rock  with  one 
hand  by  main  strength,  he  drew  his  flint 
knife  and  killed  it.  Then  fastening  it  with 
a  bit  of  willow,  he  strung  it  about  his 
waist. 

"It  looks  like  a  spider,"  said  Arturo, 
"and  must  be  the  devilfish,  a  kinsman 

1  Octopus. 


THE    SEA   SPIDER.  75 

of  the  kraken,  described,  you  remember, 
Raphael,  in  our  book  by  the  good  Bishop 
Pontoppidan  of  Norway." 

"  See  the  abalones  !  "  shouted  Torqua, 
dropping  between  the  rocks.  The  bottom 
appeared  to  be  covered  with  the  beautiful 
shells  haliotis,  that  in  some  instances  were 
piled  one  upon  another.  "  Twist  them  off 
so,"  he  said,  thrusting  a  flat  stone  beneath 
one  and  skilfully  wrenching  it  off. 

The  boys  found  that  if  the  shell  were 
touched  it  "settled  down  and  clung  to  the 
rock  with  great  tenacity,  but  if  they  slipped 
the  stone  beneath  it  quickly  it  was  an  easy 
matter  to  pry  it  off,  and  in  this  way  they 
collected  as  many  abalones  as  they  needed. 

"  How  shall  we  carry  them  ? "  asked 
Raphael,  looking  at  the  accumulation  in 
dismay.  "  If  we  only  had  a  basket." 

But  Torqua  was  equal  to  the  emergency, 
and  showed  them  that  the  shell  of  the 
abalone  was  punctured  with  a  row  of  holes ; 
then  taking  a  long,  slender  line  of  kelp, 
which  he  had  found  on  the  beach  where  it 
had  dried  hard  in  the  sun,  he  strung  the 
abalones  on  it,  ten  or  fifteen  in  a  bunch. 


76     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

Throwing  the  largest  over  his  shoulder,  he 
started  on,  followed  by  the  boys,  each  with 
his  burden. 

Instead  of  taking  the  canon  trail  down 
which  they  had  corne,  Torqua  walked  along 
the  beach  to  the  foot  of  a  precipitous  cliff, 
then  grasping  a  root,  he  drew  himself  up, 
helping  the  others  ;  whereupon  a  narrow, 
well-worn  trail  was  seen  leading  upward 
in  a  zigzag  fashion.  It  was  a  hard  climb, 
but  finally  they  stood,  flushed  and  breath- 
less, on  the  arm  of  the  great  mountain  Ori- 
zaba, which  reached  down  to  the  very 
ocean ;  in  fact,  it  was  the  divide  upon 
which  the  cave  stood.  It  .was  sufficiently 
wide  in  places  to  form  a  little  mesa,  then 
became  very  narrow,  to  widen  out  again. 
The  cave,  or  rather  the  tall  pinnacle  rocks 
which  formed  it,  was  visible  not  a  mile 
away,  and  the  boys  had  just  picked  up  their 
abalones  to  move  on  again  after  a  rest  when 
Torqua  uttered  an  exclamation  and  dropped 
upon  his  knees  so  suddenly  that  Raphael 
and  Arturo  thought  he  had  been  struck. 

"  Down,  flat !  "  he  whispered. 

The  boys  dropped  behind  a  cactus  patch 


THE    SEA    SPIDER.  77 

which  fortunately  began  here,  and  for  a 
few  moments  were  almost  afraid  to  breathe, 
then  Torqua  motioned,  and  raising  their 
heads  slightly  they  saw,  on  a  distant  slope, 
a  party  of  men  moving  slowly  along.  One 
of  them  seemed  to  be  carrying  a  load  and 
the  others  were  armed  with  guns. 

"  They  did  not  see  us,  or  they  would  have 
stopped,"  said  the  Indian  boy.  "  It  is  the 
Spanish  soldiers  and  some  of  my  people. 
They  have  been  on  a  goat  hunt,  and  see ! 
one  man  carries  the  game." 

The  cavalcade  now  descended  into  the 
canon  and  disappeared,  evidently  going  to 
the  two  harbor  rancheria  which  Torqua 
called  Toybipet,  but  the  boys  remained 
quiet  for  some  time  before  they  dared  to 
move,  and  then,  alert,  crept  along  the  south 
slope  of  the  divide,  finally  reaching  the 
cave,  where  they  found  everything  as  they 
had  left  it. 

"Now,"  said  Torqua,  "to  make  our 
home  ready.  You  cut  with  the  knife  a  lot 
of  leaves  of  the  tuna  and  I  will  make  the 
door ;  and  while  you  pick  tunas  I  will  cook 
the  abalone." 


78    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

"  If  you  don't  cook,"  said  Raphael  with 
a  laugh,  "  we  shall  starve.  I  can  boil  eggs 
—  but  we  have  no  eggs." 

"  I  believe  I  could  fry  fish  —  if  I  had 
the  fish,"  said  Arturo.  "  You  must  cook, 
Torqua,  and  we  will  do  the  other  work." 

"All  right,"  responded  Torqua,  throw- 
ing off  his  belt,  "  we  will  have  a  feast  of 
abalones ;  "  and  with  a  skilful  lunge  he  tore 
one  from  the  shell  and  threw  it  into  the 
big  stone  olla,  then  another,  until  he  had 
five  or  six ;  then  taking  the  stone  roller 
or  pestle,  he  pounded  them  until  they  were 
in  shreds,  after  which  he  tossed  them  into 
a  soapstone  olla,  and  soon  a  savory  and 
altogether  appetizing  odor  rose  from  the 
little  cave.  In  the  meantime  Raphael 
and  Arturo  had  cut  many  cactus  leaves, 
which  Torqua,  using  the  willow  twigs, 
now  strung  end  for  end,  making  a  long 
rope,  the  boys  assisting  until  they  had 
twenty  or  thirty  ropes.  He  then  took  some 
boughs  that  were  lying  in  front  of  the 
cave  and  out  of  them  made  a  frame  to  fit 
the  doorway ;  from  this  he  suspended  the 
ropes  of  cactus  so  that  they  hung  side  by 


THE    SEA   SPIDER.  79 

side  and  overlapped,  like  shingles,  —  a  very 
fair  door  for  so  mild  a  climate,  which  later 
on  became  covered  with  the  chilocothe  and 
other  vines,  and  so  concealed  the  entrance 
that  no  one  would  have  suspected  the 
presence  of  the  cave,  even  when  standing 
near  it,  a  fortunate  circumstance,  as  in  the 
days  to  come  the  boys  were  more  than  once 
obliged  to  seek  shelter  under  its  protecting 
walls. 

Torqua  had  promised  his  friends  that  he 
would  teach  them  how  to  make  fish  hooks 
and  lines,  and  the  following  day  he  began 
the  work. 

61  You  see,  Don  Arturo,"  for  he  persisted 
in  so  calling  the  boys,  "  it  is  very  easy  to 
live  at  the  mission  where  you  have  carpin- 
teros  to  make  beds  or  houses  of  wood,  and 
the  cordeleros  to  make  ropes,  and  the  cal- 
dereros  to  make  your  ollas  out  of  copper  or 
iron ;  but  here  we  have  all  these  things, 
but  no  iron  tools ;  everything  is  of  wood, 
bone,  shell,  or  stone.  For  our  rope  we 
use  seaweed  ;  our  ollas  we  cut  out  of  the 
soft  stone 1  ledges  with  knives  of  flint ; 

1  Soapstone. 


80     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

our  spears  are  also  of  flint,  so  are  our 
knives,  with  handles  of  bone  or  wood 
lashed  on  ;  and  while  we  have  no  powder 
to  make  thunder  and  lightning  for  guns, 
we  have  arrows  of  flint  which  are  sure 
death  when  they  soak  in  certain  roots, 
which  I  will  tell  you  of.  Now  to  make 
fish  hooks,  for  we  must  fish  to  eat  and  to 
enjoy  ourselves  with  the  sport." 

Selecting  a  large  abalone  shell,  with  a 
stone  he  broke  it  in  several  pieces,  then 
taking  one  of  the  latter  about  as  large 
as  a  peso1,  he  chipped  off  the  edges  until 
it  was  nearly  round,  and  then,  by  the 
aid  of  a  flint,  broke  the  surface  in  the 
centre.  He  next  selected  from  the  curious 
stone  tools  which  he  had  dug  up  some- 
thing which  looked  like  a  long,  slender 
cigar,  the  ends  being  slightly  rounded. 
With  this  he  began  to  bore  a  hole,  and  as 
the  borer  was  of  hard  stone  it  soon  pierced 
the  limy  shell.  Larger  grew  the  hole,  and 
finally  he  had  increased  it  to  two  inches  in 
diameter,  and  the  disk  of  shell  had  become 
a  perfect  ring  of  pearl.  Taking  a  pebble, 

1  Dollar. 


THE    SEA    SPIDER.  81 

he  placed  the  ring  on  it  and  cleverly  broke 
out  a  quarter  of  it,  leaving  a  rude  hook. 
With  a  rough  stone  he  filed  this  down, 
formed  a  notch  on  the  outside  instead  of 
on  the  inside  for  the  barb,  then  cut  a 
notch  on  the  shank  to  which  to  attach  the 
line.  He  now  took  a  smooth  dark-lined 
slate  stone  and  polished  the  shell  hook  so 
that  it  became  a  really  attractive  object. 
The  boys  were  loud  in  the  expressions  of 
admiration  at  his  skill,  and  were  soon  at 
work  filing  and  cutting  the  beautiful  shell ; 
but  it  took  them  hours  to  form  even  a 
rough  hook,  and  often  it  broke  beneath 
their  unskilled  fingers  and  all  the  work 
was  wasted.  Torqua  made  each  of  the 
boys  a  bow,  cut  them  arrows  from  the 
willow  branches,  and  showed  them  how  to 
bind  on  the  flint  arrowheads  with  wet 
squirrel  hide,  which,  in  the  sun,  hardened 
and  shrank  so  that  the  tips  were  as  firm  as 
though  they  were  held  in  bands  of  steel. 

Almost  every  day  the  Indian  boy  would 
creep  up  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Orizaba, 
that  towered  over  the  island,  to  see  if  the 
Spaniards  had  gone  away ;  and  as  he  could 


82    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

still  see  signs  of  them,  they  did  not  ven- 
ture far  from  the  cave.  They  stole  down 
the  canon  for  water  and  abalones,  crept 
upon  the  bands  of  quail,  and  Torqua  killed 
doves,  quail,  foxes,  and  squirrels  on  the 
slope  with  his  macdna,  so  they  fared  well. 
Every  day  he  taught  the  boys  how  to  make 
tools  for  their  house.  One  day  they  made 
arrowheads.  The  Indian  selected  a  bit  of 
quartz,  or  flint,  placed  it  in  a  split  stick, 
then  held  it  in  the  coals  until  it  was 
hot.  He  next  took  a  twig  which  he  dipped 
in  water,  touching  it  to  the  edge  of  the 
stone  ;  wherever  it  came  in  contact  a  sliver 
cracked  off ,  and  in  this  way,  ever  repeating 
the  act,  he  formed  an  arrow.  By  taking 
much  time  he  shaped  some  beautiful  ones 
in  white,  gray,  blue,  red,  and  variegated 
stone  and  of  all  sizes.  He  also  made  each 
of  the  boys  a  spear  of  white  flint,  which  he 
bound  to  the  end  of  a  slender  pole  with  wet 
fox  hide,  which,  when  dried  in  the  hot 
sun,  bound  the  spearhead  solidly  upon  the 
shaft,  and  he  daily  gave  them  lessons  with 
the  throwing  club.  For  fishing  lines  he 
selected  the  long,  slender  vines  of  kelp, 


THE    SEA   SPIDER.  83 

soaked  them  in  grease  to  render  them 
pliable,  and  dried  them  in  a  cool  place,  and 
by  skilfully  fastening  the  ends  soon  had 
three  or  four  lines  which  were  strong 
enough  to  catch  a  very  large  fish.1 

"  Some  day,"  said  Torqua,  "  I  will  show 
you  the  place  where  the  ollas  come  from, 
but  these  are  made  by  regular  canteros,  or 
stone-cutters,  who  understand  the  art. 
Though  I  make  them,  it  is  very  hard  work 
and  takes  a  long  time,  like  the  stone  ollas 
which  our  old  women  make  who  are  too  old 
to  do  anything  but  pound,  pound,  pound." 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  boys 
learned  to  make  all  these  objects  at  once. 
The  art  was  accomplished  but  slowly,  but, 
aided  by  natural  skill  and  ability,  they  in 
time  became  almost  as  clever  in  the  manipu- 
lation of  all  the  stone  implements  in  use  at 
Pimug-na  as  the  Indians  themselves,  and 
indeed  invented  and  suggested  many  ob- 
jects and  articles  upon  which  their  friends 

1  The  author  has  seen  one  of  these  lines,  taken  from 
a  grave  on  the  island  of  St.  Nicolas.  It  was  coiled  and 
fastened,  and  had  evidently  been  buried  with  the  owner, 
together  with  the  fish  hooks  and  sinkers. 


84          THE   ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

set  the  mark  of  approval.  The  boys  were 
finally  equipped  with  all  the  implements 
in  use  by  the  natives.  Their  drinking 
cups  were  the  abalone  shells.  Their  seeds, 
roots,  and  abalones  were  ground  in  the 
heavy  stone  ollas,  which,  made  by  Indians 
ages  before,  were  to  be  found  all  over 
the  island.  For  cooking  they  had  the 
soapstone  ollas,  flint  formed  their  knives, 
pearly  shells  their  fish  hooks,  kelp  their 
lines,  while  sinkers  they  carved  out  of  the 
soft  soapstone,  a  vast  quarry  of  which  was 
found  on  the  island. 

The  boys  found  it  easier  to  make  arrow- 
heads and  shafts  than  to  hit  the  game,  and 
it  was  weeks  and  months  before  they  be- 
came proficient  enough  to  bring  down  a 
fox  or  large  bird  with  either  arrow  or 
macdna,1  and  this  was  when,  dressed  in 
skins  like  savages,  they  were  forced  to  hunt 
to  provide  the  camp. 

1  Like  throwing  club. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE    TEMPLE    OF    CHINIGCHINICH. 

ONE  morning  Raphael  and  Arturo  were 
awakened  by  Torqua,  who  bounded 
into  the  cave  with  a  loud  shout  and  danced 
about  with  much  animation  and  many 
extravagant  gestures.  Putting  his  hands 
to  his  mouth,  he  gave  a  loud  "  hola  "  that 
went  ringing  down  into  the  canon. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  cried  Arturo. 
"  Have  you  eaten  the  crazy  plant  ?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Torqua,  "  but  they  have 
gone." 

"  Who  ?     The  soldiers  ?  " 

"  Yes.  I  climbed  the  canon  this  morn- 
ing, followed  down  the  cliff,  and  saw  the 
boat  coming  down  the  coast  until  they 
struck  the  wind ;  then  up  went  the  sail 
and  away  they  flew,  and  now  we  can  go 
and  see  my  people,  now  we  can  begin  to 
live,  to  hunt  and  fish,"  and  Torqua  again 
uttered  a  shout  that  would  have  aroused 


86  THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

the  Spaniards  if  any  had  been  within  a 
mile  of  the  cavern.  "  They  have  given 
us  up.  They  stayed  to  see  if  the  people 
would  not  tell  them  about  us,  and  as  they 
do  not  know  we  are  here,  the  soldiers  think 
that  we  were  drowned  in  the  cave,  and 
have  gone  back  to  San  Juan  to  report  to 
the  captain.  You  do  not  mind  being  dead, 
do  you,  Don  Arturo?"  said  Torqua. 

"No,"  replied  the  boy,  "not  so  long  as 
I  know  I  am  not." 

"  All  right,"  replied  Torqua.  «  We  are 
dead  to  the  soldiers,  and  now  I  will  take  a 
present  to  the  god.  You  see  what  my  god 
can  do ;  he  saved  us  and  has  sent  the  sol- 
diers away.  I  will  take  you  to  the  temple ; 
it  is  away  in  the  hills  over  the  mountains." 

After  they  had  eaten  they  started  down 
the  mountain.  It  was  a  delight  not  to  be 
obliged  to  watch  every  tree  and  rock  or  to 
skulk  along  under  cover,  and  rejoicing  in 
their  freedom,  they  strode  along  with  songs 
on  their  lips,  imitating  the  partridges,  and 
shouting  at  the  foxes  that  were  very 
numerous.  Flocks  of  partridges  filled  the 
mouth  of  every  branching  canon,  the  roar 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    CEIINIGCHINICH.        87 

of  their  wings  sounding  on  the  air,  and  ever 
and  anon  the  sharp  whistling  of  the  wings 
of  doves  startled  the  boys,  as  these  birds 
started  up  at  their  feet  and  shot  away 
with  undulating,  plunging  flight.  Torqua 
was  searching  for  something,  examining 
the  trees  and  rocks  as  he  walked,  when 
suddenly  he  stopped  and  listened. 

"  It 's  nothing  but  a  raven,"  said  Arturo, 
as  a  harsh,  strident  note  pierced  the  air  and 
a  jet-black  bird  rose  from  a  bush  and  flew 
over  their  heads,  alighting  not  far  away, 
eyeing  them  curiously. 

"I  heard  the  cry  of  the  eagle,"  said 
Torqua,  listening  eagerly,  "  and  I  must 
have  its  feathers  for  the  temple.  There 
it  is!  See,  Don  Arturo!"  pointing  to  a 
distant  crag,  on  which,  standing  out  against 
the  sky,  was  a  small  black  object.  To 
reach  it  they  were  obliged  to  walk  out 
over  a  narrow  ridge  with  very  precipitous 
sides  which  led  to  a  seeming  island  in  the 
air,  and  while  Torqua  ran  along  the  narrow 
divide  with  the  skill  of  long  training,  Ar- 
turo and  his  brother  made  slower  progress, 
reaching  a  point  which  seemed  to  overhang 


88    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

the  sea.  There  they  found  Torqua  crouch- 
ing beneath  a  stone,  and  high  in  air  above 
them  a  great  eagle  with  a  white  head, 
uttering  loud  and  harsh  cries. 

"  He  is  too  far  away,"  said  Torqua. 
"  There  is  his  nest,"  pointing  to  a  mass  of 
brush  that  topped  a  crag.  "  I  will  climb 
up  to  it,  and  as  he  comes  down  I  will 
shoot  him." 

Acting  on  this  plan,  Torqua  crept  out 
upon  the  rocky  eyry  and  slowly  made  his 
way  up  the  pinnacle,  holding  his  bow  and 
arrow  in  his  mouth.  The  eagle  had  flown 
upward  in  great  circles  until  it  resembled  a 
raven  in  size,  but  suddenly  the  boys  saw  it 
dropping  from  the  clouds  like  an  arrow ;  it 
had  seen  Torqua  creeping  up  to  its  nest. 
Arturo  shouted  to  him  that  the  eagle  was 
coming,  and  Torqua  quickly  leaned  back 
against  the  rock  and  slipped  his  arrow  into 
place.  He  had  hardly  accomplished  this 
before  the  great  bird  seemed  to  literally 
drop  out  of  the  sky  upon  him.  It  turned 
as  it  reached  the  nest  and  with  a  savage  cry 
swooped  upon  and  struck  at  him.  Torqua, 
pulling  back  his  bow,  fired  at  such  close 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    CHINIGCHINICH.        89 

range  that  he  missed  a  vital  part,  the  arrow 
passing  through  the  wing  feathers.  His 
position  was  such  that  he  could  not  move 
without  great  danger  of  falling,  and  a  fall 
meant  certain  death  on  the  rocks  hundreds 
of  feet  below.  The  enraged  bird  now 
turned  again  and  darted  down,  with  a 
whistling  sound,  and  struck  at  him  furi- 
ously with  its  claws. 

"  Shoot  it,  Don  Arturo,  shoot !  "  shouted 
Torqua,  crouching  as  far  back  as  he  could. 

The  boys  had  been  crawling  out  toward 
him,  and  as  the  eagle  made  another  vicious 
swoop,  Arturo  fired,  but  missed,  making 
the  bird  bound  upward  suddenly,  allowing 
Torqua  to  change  his  position  and  move 
into  a  more  secure  place,  and  to  slip  an- 
other arrow  into  his  bow.  Down  wheeled 
the  eagle  again  like  an  avenging  fury,  bent 
on  the  protection  of  its  nest  and  young. 
As  it  passed  it  turned  completely  on  its 
side,  struck  at  the  half-naked  boy  with 
its  fierce  talons,  then  dealt  him  a  blow 
with  its  powerful  wings  that  crushed  him 
against  the  rock.  But  Torqua  was  equally 
quick,  and  as  the  eagle  passed  he  drew  back 


90     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

the  bow  and  sent  an  arrow  quivering  into 
it.  The  great  bird  uttered  a  wild,  fierce 
cry  and  seemed  to  collapse  in  the  air, 
fluttered  heavily  for  a  while  toward  the 
rock  where  the  boys  crouched,  then,  after 
a  convulsive  effort,  plunged  downward  and 
fell  on  a  rock  not  twenty  feet  from  them. 
They  raised  a  shout  and  started  toward  it, 
while  Torqua  climbed  down  and  joined 
them.  The  bird  which  had  made  so  fierce 
a  fight  was  dead.  The  boys  wondered  at 
its  size  and  powerful  wings,  and  wished  that 
they  could  measure  it. 

"  It  came  near  knocking  me  off,"  said 
Torqua  grimly,  "  but  see,  my  arrow  passed 
way  through  it." 

He  pulled  out  the  beautiful  tail  and  wing 
feathers ;  then  hurling  the  body  down  upon 
the  rocks,  they  took  up  their  march  over 
the  ridge  and  along  the  mountains  to  the 
temple. 

The  view  of  the  blue  sea,  at  their  feet, 
yet  one  thousand  feet  below  them,  and  far 
away  the  snow-capped  peaks  of  the  Sierra 
Mad  res,  was  grand  and  impressive,  and 
more  than  once  the  party  stopped  to  enjoy  it. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    CHINIGCHINICH.        91 

"  It  is  what  the  Padres  call  pintura,  a 
picture,"  said  Torqua,  looking  over  the  sea 
with  glowing  eyes;  then  he  turned  to  the 
south  and  followed  along  the  ridge,  after 
a  while  descending  into  a  little  valley. 
Pointing  to  a  clump  of  trees  not  far  away 
he  said,  "  There  is  the  temple ;  there  is 
Chinigchinich." 

As  they  walked  slowly  on  the  boys  saw 
that  the  earth  had  been  tramped  and  worn 
bare  by  many  feet  passing  through  an  open- 
ing in  the  brush.  Soon  they  found  them- 
selves in  the  presence  of  the  temple  of  the 
god  Chinigchinich.  Arturo  wished  to  laugh, 
but  his  brother  caught  his  eye  and  shook 
his  head  as  Torqua  stood  the  picture  of 
reverence.  The  temple  was  merely  a  num- 
ber of  long  stones  arranged  in  a  large  circle, 
points  upward,  in  the  centre  of  which  was 
a  rude  and  grotesque  wooden  statue  with 
staring  eyes.  On  the  breast  of  this  strange 
god  was  a  picture  of  the  sun,  or  moon,  and 
all  about  it  were  innumerable  feathers  of 
birds  which  had  been  offered  by  natives. 
Many  were  held  down  by  stones  so  that 
they  could  not  blow  away,  while  some  were 


92     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

fastened  to  the  wooden  god  with  cords  of 
grass,  or  to  posts  of  wood  which  stood  up- 
right in  the  ground.  Torqua  approached 
the  circle  with  evident  trepidation  and 
passed  his  dearly  won  eagle  feathers  into 
the  circle,  repeating  some  words  in  his  own 
tongue  in  a  quaint  chanting  tone.  Then 
he  turned  and  said  in  Spanish,  "  Is  it  not 
beautiful  ?  " 

Arturo,  to  whom  the  question  was  ad- 
dressed, evaded  an  answer  by  asking  who 
made  it. 

"  No  one  knows,"  said  Torqua,  "  but  it 
was  made  by  my  ancestors  long  ago,  and 
it  is  the  finest  god  and  temple  on  any  of 
the  islands,  so  I  have  heard  my  father  say, 
and  he  has  been  in  the  war  canoes  to  the 
rancherias  far  to  the  north.  Now,"  he 
continued,  "  I  am  going  to  take  you  to 
some  of  my  people  and  the  finest  place  on 
the  island,  the  Bay  of  Moons.1  " 

"  Why  the  Bay  of  Moons?"  asked  Arturo. 

"Because,"  said  Torqua,  "the  bay  is  like 
a  moon — shaped  like  it  when  the  dragon 
is  half  over  it." 

i  Avalon  Bay. 


THE    TEMPLE    OF    CHINIGCIIINICH.        93 

"  A  crescent?"  suggested  Arturo. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Torqua,  though  it  is 
doubtful  if  he  had  ever  heard  the  word. 

There  was  a  well-defined  trail  on  the 
ridge  of  the  mountains  along  which  Torqua 
walked,  the  others  following.  Now  through 
clusters  of  manzanita  they  passed,  winding 
in  and  out,  and  after  traversing  hill  and 
dale  and  ravines  they  came  to  the  edge  of 
a  deep  canon,  which  fell  away  at  their  feet 
so  precipitously  that  the  boys  instinctively 
drew  back. 

"There  it  is,"  exclaimed  Torqua,  "the 
Bay  of  Moons ! "  his  eyes  kindling  with 
delight. 

The  boys  shared  in  his  enthusiasm,  as 
beneath  them  was  a  perfect  crescent  of 
sand,  in  striking  contrast  to  the  blue  of  the 
bay.  On  each  point  stood  rocky  sentinels, 
the  one  to  the  north  a  huge,  cone-shaped, 
sugarl oaf-like  rock  sixty  or  seventy  feet 
high,  separated  from  the  mainland  by  a 
little,  channel. 

"  Many  times  I  have  climbed  that,"  said 
Torqua ;  "  and  see,"  he  added,  "  the  homes 
and  canoes  of  my  people  !  " 


94          THE   ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

The  boys  saw  a  row  of  long  canoes  and 
balsas  hauled  upon  the  white  beach  and 
near  them  numbers  of  huts,  built  on  a  black 
tract  of  land1  just  back  from  the  water. 
Here  and  there  were  figures  moving  about, 
and  columns  of  smoke  rose  into  the  air, 
telling  of  the  camp  or  town.  Torqua  could 
not  restrain  his  impatience,  and,  slipping 
over  the  edge,  he  began  the  descent,  dis- 
regarding the  trail  and  making  what  is 
known  as  a  short  cut  through  patches  of 
cactus  and  beneath  great  clumps  of  grease- 
wood,  occasionally  stopping  to  utter  a  loud 
cry,  "  Alala  !  "  that  reverberated  through 
the  deep  canon  and  its  branches.  The 
boys,  who  were  soon  left  behind,  could  see 
the  Indians  collecting  near  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  and  in  a  short  time  Torqua  was 
among  them.  When  the  boys  reached  him, 
Torqua,  smiling,  said  something  in  his 
native  tongue  to  the  Indians,  then  turning 
to  them  spoke  in  Spanish. 

"  These  are  my  people,  Don  Arturo  and 
Don  Raphael." 

i  A  large  hotel,  the  Metropole,  stands  on  this  kitchen- 
midden  to-day. 


THE   TEMPLE   OF   CHINIGCHINICH.        95 

None  of  the  Indians  understood  a  word 
of  Spanish,  but  they  crowded  around  the 
boys,  patted  their  backs,  and  pointed  to 
Torqua,  who  explained  that  they  were 
expressing  their  welcome.  They  were  tall, 
finely  formed  men,  lighter  than  the  main- 
land tribes,  with  intelligent  faces.  Some 
wore  skins  of  the  otter  about  their  loins. 
All,  including  the  children,  of  which  there 
were  many,  looked  at  the  boys  and  their 
white  faces  with  the  greatest  curiosity. 

Torqua's  father  now  led  the  way  to  his 
hut,  which  was  constructed  of  skins  and 
brush,  and  would  accommodate  ten  or  more 
people.  Here  Torqua's  mother  gave  the 
boys  welcome,  and  they  were  shown  his 
grandmother,  an  old  woman  who,  he  said, 
was  one  hundred  and  ten  years  old.  She 
sat  by  the  door  weaving  a  basket  of  the 
twigs  of  willow  and  did  not  stop  her  work 
even  to  greet  Torqua,  uttering  a  queer  grunt 
as  he  came  in. 

In  the  centre  of  the  hut  was  a  fire,  and 
the  smoke,  which  found  its  way  out  of  the 
top,  had  blackened  everything.  Piles  of 
abalone  shells  glistened  in  the  sun  at  one 


96    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

side,  and  on  the  fire  was  a  stone  pot, 
from  which  rose  savory  odors  of  fish  and 
abalone. 

The  boys  sat  down  on  some  sea  lions' 
skins,  and  Torqua's  sister,  a  bright-faced 
girl  of  sixteen,  in  a  dress  evidently  made  of 
otter  skin,  passed  them  fish  in  abalone  shell 
plates  and  a  paste  of  seed.  She  had  strung 
about  her  neck  row  after  row  of  beads 
made  from  shells,  and  in  her  ears  were 
singular  rings,  like  fish  hooks,  made  of  the 
pearly  abalone.  There  was  not  a  piece  of 
metal  in  the  hut,  but  the  Indians  had 
various  articles  of  stone,  wood,  and  shell 
to  take  its  place.  Around  about  the  place 
were  a  number  of  huge  stone  mortars  and 
pestles,  the  former  filled  with  chia  seeds 
and  roots ;  on  the  sides  hung  fish  lines  of 
kelp,  hooks  of  shell,  and  spears  with  points 
made  of  flint,  while  bows  of  wood  and  clubs 
of  stone  stood  about. 

Visitors  now  began  to  arrive,  many 
coming  in  and  smoking  their  stone  pipes 
in  silence,  listening  to,  Torqua  as  he  related 
his  experience.  Finally  he  told  the  boys 
that  his  people  would  adopt  them  into  the 


THE    TEMPLE   OF    CHINIGCHINICH.        97 

tribe,  and,  if  the  soldiers  came  after  them 
again,  they  would  hide  them  away  and 
fight  for  them  if  necessary. 

"  We  must  have  a  house  here  to  live  in," 
said  Torqua.  "  My  brother  has  given  me 
some  stakes  and  skins  and  it  will  not  take 
us  long." 

Later  they  selected  a  spot  on  the  side  of 
a  hill,  and,  with  the  help  of  the  natives,  in 
a  short  time  had  a  hut  framed  and  covered 
in  to  keep  out  the  cool  night  air.  Torqua 
brought  great  piles  of  soft  brush  and  made 
beds,  over  which  were  thrown  soft  skins  of 
the  sea  elephant  and  seal,  and  he  produced 
several  more  for  covering. 

"  This  is  great  sport,"  said  Arturo,  who 
was  building  a  fire  with  some  coals  Torqua 
had  brought  in ;  "  and  after  a  while  we  can 
enjoy  life." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Torqua,  "  we  will  be  great 
hunters  like  my  father." 

They  were  interrupted  by  loud  cries,  and 
on  running  out  they  saw  that  a  large  canoe 
was  coining  in.  The  men  paddled  hard 
and  ran  it  upon  the  beach,  then  leaped 
into  the  water  knee-deep,  seized  it  by  tne 


98     THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

rail,  and  carried  it  up  the  shore  with  loud 
shouts.  The  canoe  was  filled  with  beauti- 
ful fish  with  yellow  tails  and  fins,  some  of 
which  weighed  thirty  pounds.  The  squaws 
now  came  forward,  with  troops  of  children, 
and  took  them  out  of  the  canoe  and  began 
to  clean  them,  while  the  fishermen  went  to 
their  huts  or  threw  themselves  down  on  the 
sand  to  sleep  and  rest.  The  boys  noticed 
that  as  soon  as  the  women  began  work  on 
the  fish  there  was  a  great  commotion  among 
the  birds.  Flocks  of  gulls  and  pelicans 
gathered  about  them,  coming  so  near  that 
the  water  in  the  vicinity  of  the  beach  was 
covered  with  a  shrieking,  vociferous  throng 
that  dashed  at  every  morsel  the  squaws 
threw  at  them  and  fought  for  it  with  great 
vigor.  The  ravens  on  the  surrounding  hills 
heard  the  clamor  and  began  to  come  down 
from  their  homes  in  the  cliffs.  At  first  they 
alighted  on  the  sand  some  distance  away, 
then  walked  down,  and,  gathering  about 
the  women,  tried  to  snatch  the  fish  from 
their  hands.  The  women  shouted  at  them, 
threw  sand  over  them,  but  never  touched 
the  black  thieves,  which  Torqua  said  were 


THE   TEMPLE    OF    CHINIGCHINICH.        99 

sacred  birds  which  had  been  unmolested 
so  long  that  they  robbed  the  women  with 
impunity,  carrying  off  the  cleaned  fish  and 
stealing  from  the  children  particularly,  in 
the  boldest  fashion. 


CHAPTER  X. 

DUEL    OF   THE    SWORDFISH. 

THE  boys  readily  adapted  themselves 
to  life  on  the  Bay  of  Moons.  It 
appealed  to  their  love  of  adventure,  as  it 
.was  one  of  continued  excitement.  The 
natives  of  Torqua's  tribe  were  hunters  and 
the  game  was  of  the  sea;  big  game,  often 
dangerous,  and  every  day  some  adventur- 
ous expedition  was  begun  or  planned,  and 
some  strange  or  new  animal  brought  to 
shore.  Torqua  and  the  boys  soon  had  their 
own  hut  complete,  their  canoe  launched, 
fitted  with  lines,  spears,  bows  and  arrows 
of  their  own  manufacture.  Their  large 
lines  were  made  of  ropes  or  cords  obtained 
from  the  Spaniards,  but  the  small  lines  were 
formed  of  the  long  kelp  which  abounded 
along  shore,  and  their  hooks  were  fashioned 
from  the  shell  of  the  abalone. 

"  What  do  you  think  ?  "  said  Torqua,  who 


DUEL    OF   THE    SWORDFISH.  101 

came  running  into  the  tent  one  morning. 
"  Talco,  my  brother,  has  just  come  from 
the  opposite  side  of  the  island  and  says 
there  are  swordfishes  like  stars  in  the  sky 
there.  We  each  need  a  sword,  because  we 
may  go  to  war.  We  will  go  around  and 
catch  one." 

Arturo  and  Raphael  eagerly  assented, 
and  hurrying  to  their  canoe  which  stood 
upon  the  beach,  they  ran  it  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  jumped  in,  and  shoved  off. 
They  paddled  around  the  long  beach  of 
pebbles  by  the  precipitous  bluffs  which  rose 
to  meet  the  mountains,  then  turned  the 
south  end  of  the  island,  where  they  were 
greeted  by  the  hoarse  barking  of  the  sea 
lions,  which  had  formed  a  rookery  here. 
The  old  bulls,  of  enormous  size,  stood  their 
ground  as  the  canoe  approached,  but  the 
females  and  young  slid  off  into  the  water, 
and  dancing,  bobbing,  mermaid-like  heads 
appeared  above  the  surface  here  and  there, 
literally  surrounding  the  boat.  But  the 
boys  paddled  on,  passed  a  strange  rock  with 
a  human-like  face 1  carved  upon  it  by  wind 

1  Now  known  as  Church  Rock. 


102        THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

and  wave,  then  turned  north  and  saw  before 
them  the  long  trend  of  coast  line  and  pre- 
cipitous rock  cliffs  of  the  south  shore. 

"  It's  going  to  blow/'  said  Torqua,  look- 
ing up. 

"  Why  ?  "  asked  Arturo.  "  It 's  as  smooth 
as  glass  and  not  a  breath  of  wind." 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  Torqua.  "  I 
feel  it ;  it  blow  to-morrow,  perhaps  to-night, 
you  see." 

They  continued  to  paddle  on  over  the 
summer  sea,  skirting  a  wide  border  of  kelp, 
their  canoe  cutting  the  water  like  a  knife. 
Suddenly  a  huge  fish  leaped  from  the  water 
not  fifty  feet  from  them  and  fell  with  a 
crash,  while  following  came  a  violent  swirl 
of  waters. 

"  Stop  !  "  cried  Torqua,  flinging  down  his 
paddle  and  grasping  the  harpoon. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  said  Arturo. 

"  Swordfish.  See  his  sword  ?  See  ! 
see  !  "  and  out  of  the  hissing  water  appeared 
a  huge  body,  with  a  long  sword,  and  directly 
after  it  another. 

"  A  fight !  a  battle  !  "  exclaimed  Torqua. 
"  Back,  Don  Arturo !  Back  with  your 


DUEL    OF    THE    SWORDFISH.  103 

paddle,  as  they  may  take  us  for  a  fish  and 
sink  us,  run  us  through  with  their  spears." 

The  boys  backed  water  violently,  and 
finally,  when  forty  or  fifty  feet  away, 
stopped  the  canoe  and  became  witnesses  to 
one  of  the  most  savage  fights  ever  seen. 
Two  swordfishes  were  contending  for  the 
supremacy,  circling  around  each  other  on 
the  surface,  their  sharp  fins  cutting  the 
water  with  a  hissing  sound.  Out  again 
went  one  of  the  monsters,  this  time  in  the 
direction  of  the  canoe,  and  behind  it  came 
the  tall  fin  of  the  pursuer.  The  fish  seemed 
to  rise  four  feet  clear  of  the  water,  its  large 
staring  eyes  being  plainly  seen,  then  it  fell 
so  near  that  it  almost  struck  the  canoe.  A 
second  later  a  rushing,  lifting  body  grazed 
it,  almost  tipping  it  over,  so  that  they  all 
lost  their  footing,  and  as  they  recovered 
themselves  they  seemed  to  be  in  a  very 
maelstrom. 

"  Back,  back  off !  "  cried  Torqua,  seizing 
his  paddle. 

But  this  seemed  difficult  to  do,  as  the  fish 
were  darting  about,  now  on  one  side,  now 
on  the  other,  coming  together  with  terrific 


104    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

blows  which  threw  the  water  high  in  air. 
Suddenly  one  of  the  swordfishes  darted 
away,  and  as  swift  as  a  beam  of  light 
the  other  followed.  The  retreating  fish 
made  an  effort  to  rise  in  air,  but  just  as 
its  head  and  sword  rose  above  the  sur- 
face the  avenger,  or  pursuer,  charged  it 
like  a  cannon  ball,  and  the  excited  observers 
saw  the  sword  enter  its  gill  and  pass  through 
the  fish  with  all  the  cleverness  of  a  rapier.1 

"  He  has  him  !  "  exclaimed  Raphael  ex- 
citedly. 

It  was  true ;  the  final  stroke  in  this  duel 
between  the  great  swordsmen  of  the  sea 
had  been  given,  and  the  attacking  fish  was 
beating  the  water  into  foam  in  its  efforts 
to  withdraw  its  weapon  after  the  thrust, 
while  the  other  lay  on  the  surface  thrashing 
its  tail. 

"Back  away!"  again  ordered  Torqua; 
"  he  may  charge  us  yet." 

With  a  few  sweeps  of  their  paddles  the 
canoe  moved  away  to  watch  the  finish  of 

1  A  similar  battle  was  witnessed  at  Santa  Catalina  in 
1898,  and  the  author  found  the  body  of  one  of  the  duel- 
lists at  Catalina  Harbor. 


DUEL    OF    THE    SWORDFISH.  105 

this  mighty  struggle.  But  the  end  was 
near.  With  a  violent  side  wrench  the  vic- 
tor withdrew  his  sword,  leaving  the  other 
dying  on  the  surface. 

"  He  has  killed  him  for  us,"  said  Torqua, 
taking  up  his  harpoon,  and,  bidding  Arturo 
paddle,  they  ran  alongside.  He  hurled  his 
weapon  into  the  side  of  the  fish,  then,  see- 
ing that  it  was  dead,  grasped  the  long  sword, 
while  the  boys  began  to  paddle  in  shore. 
They  landed  at  the  mouth  of  a  deep  canon, 
which  came  winding  down  from  the  moun- 
tains; and,  having  carried  the  canoe  above 
the  surf,  they  hauled  the  dead  swordfish  out 
upon  the  sands.  It  was  ten  feet  in  length, 
and  had  a  finely  formed  sword  three  feet 
long.  In  the  body  were  three  jagged 
wounds,  while  another  passed  entirely 
through  the  head.  The  boys  immediately 
began  to  cut  out  the  sword  —  a  long  and 
tedious  process  —  with  bone  and  stone 
knives  ;  but  finally  it  was  secured.  Then 
Torqua  took  the  skin  of  a  dogfish  which 
he  found  upon  the  beach  and  bound  it 
about  the  larger  end  and  presented  to  the 
boys  a  perfect  sabre,  a  weapon  the  execu- 


106   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

tion  of  which  they  had  witnessed  and  which 
Torqua  assured  them,  when  dry,  was  a  val- 
uable possession. 

The  day  had  slipped  rapidly  away  during 
the  exciting  scene  attendant  upon  the  duel, 
and  when  they  turned  to  lift  the  canoe 
Torqua  stopped  and  pointed  out  at  sea. 
The  water  was  calm,  but,  strangely  enough, 
a  very  heavy  sea  was  running,  great  billows 
coming  in  to  sift  through  the  barrier  of  the 
kelp  bed  and  beat  upon  the  rocks  with 
a  loud  roar.  The  sky  to  the  west  was 
ominously  black,  and  extending  from  a 
mass  of  clouds  was  a  long,  attenuated  finger 
of  fog  which  seemed  to  be  the  advance 
guard  of  a  storm. 

"  No  use  try  to  go  home,"  said  Torqua, 
"tip  over  sure,  down  below.  I  knew  wind 
come.  I  feel  him." 

Torqua  was  a  true  prophet.  The  wind 
at  first  came  in  puffs  and  gusts,  the  sea 
rose  as  if  by  magic,  and  then  as  though 
collecting  its  energies  the  storm  burst  upon 
the  island  with  all  the  fury  of  a  hurricane. 

"  No  Bay  of  Moons  to-night,"  said  Tor- 
qua. "  What  you  say,"  turning  to  his 


DUEL    OF    THE    SWORDFISH.  107 

companions,  "  we  go  to  the  cave  and  next 
day,  when  storm  gone,  hunt  for  the  big 
seal?" 

"  The  sea  elephant  ?  "  asked  Arturo. 

"  I  think  that  what  the  Padre  call  him/' 
Torqua  assented,  "  but  I  don't  know  what 
you  call  him." 

Raphael  tried  to  explain  the  mysteries 
of  pronunciation,  but  elephant  was  too 
much  for  Torqua  ;  however,  it  was  decided 
to  hunt  for  the  big  animals  on  the  following 
day. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE    SEA    ELEPHANT    ROOKERY. 

IN  leaving  the  beach  Torqua  did  not  fol- 
low the  canon  as  usual, but  climbed  a  nar- 
row and  rocky  trail,  so  reaching  the  great 
spur  of  Orizaba  which  reached  down  to  the 
sea,  forming  a  hogback,  or  rib,  of  the  island 
at  this  point.  They  were  well  laden  with 
strings  of  abalone,  and  Torqua  bore  many 
pounds  of  fish  slung  over  his  shoulder  and 
hanging  down  his  back,  which  they  had 
caught  on  the  way  up  the  coast.  When 
they  reached  the  summit  the  burdens  were 
flung  down,  and  the  boys  turned  their  eyes 
out  over  the  sea,  which  rested  beneath  them 
like  a  copper  disk,  tinted  with  a  scarlet 
glow,  while  near  shore  it  caught  the  reflec- 
tion of  the  deep  purple  shadows  which 
were  now  creeping  out  from  rock  and  lee, 
forming  a  splendid  transformation  scene. 
A  mile  or  two  out  was  a  fog  bank,  a  mass 
of  dove  color  tipped  with  crimson,  drawn 


THE  SEA  ELEPHANT  ROOKERY.   109 

out  into  an  attenuated  form  headed  for  the 
island,  laden  with  crisp  and  cooling  vapors. 
For  a  mile  the  boys  again  tramped  in  silence, 
the  tall  pinnacle  of  the  rock  cavern  being 
always  in  sight.  When  within  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  of  it,  Torqua,  who  was  in  the 


Seal  Rocks. 

lead,  stopped  suddenly  and  dropped  to  the 
ground. 

"  What  is  it  ?"  whispered  Raphael,  as  he 
flattened  himself  between  a  clump  of  cactus. 

"  Some  one  is  creeping  through  the  weed 
in  front  of  our  cave,"  responded  Torqua. 
"  Do  you  stay  here  and  I  will  go  on." 

The  boys  remained  quiet  while  the  Indian 


110   THE  .ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

crept  over  the  divide,  until  he  was  out  of 
sight  of  the  cave;  then,  rising,  he  ran  swiftly 
along  until  he  reached  the  top  of  the  cav- 
ern, leaping  from  one  rock  to  another,  and 
climbing  up  to  the  flat  rock  that  over- 
hung the  door.  There  he  flattened  out  like 
a  centipede  again,  wriggling  his  way  along 
until  he  could  look  down  without  being 
observed.  At  first  he  did  not  see  any- 
thing, as  the  shadows  had  grown  deeper 
and  night  was  coining  on,  but  in  a  few 
moments  something  moved,  and  he  made 
out  the  figure  of  a  man.  It  was  an  Indian, 
almost  naked,  but  who  ?  Torqua  knew  that 
the  natives  familiar  with  the  place  would 
not  hesitate  to  enter  the  cave,  but  this  man 
moved  like  an  enemy,  and  wound  his  way 
carefully,  ever  and  anon  glancing  around 
to  see  if  he  was  watched.  Suddenly  a  small 
stone  was  dislodged  by  Torqua,  falling 
directly  in  front  of  the  unknown,  who 
quickly  looked  up.  He  could  not  see 
Torqua,  as  the  latter's  head  was  lost  against 
the  rock,  but  Torqua  caught  one  glimpse 
of  the  swarthy,  vicious  countenance  that 
was  turned  upward,  and  in  that  fleeting 


THE  SEA  ELEPHANT  ROOKERY.    Ill 

second  recognized  Zizu,  the  traitor  and  spy, 
the  Indian  who,  for  reward,  had  on  several 
occasions  sacrificed  his  adopted  people  to 
the  Spaniards.  Torqua  remained  perfectly 
quiet,  and  presently  Zizu  moved  on  until 
he  neared  the  entrance  of  the  cave,  when 
he  stopped  a  moment  to  listen,  then  peered 
through  the  leafy  curtain  and  began  to 
search  for  the  opening.  Torqua  recovered 
himself  and  deftly  sprang  back,  beckoning 
to  Raphael,  whose  head  he  could  see;  then, 
with  the  lightness  of  a  goat,  he  leaped 
down  from  rock  to  rock  upon  his  bare  feet, 
until  he  reached  a  position  just  over  the 
spy,  where  he  flattened  himself  out  against 
the  rocks  and  crawled  to  the  edge.  Zizu 
was  feeling  for  the  door,  which  was  con- 
cealed in  a  maze  of  dry  cactus  leaves. 
Torqua  was  not  twenty  feet  above  him, 
and,  carefully  measuring  the  distance,  he 
slid  over  the  edge  of  the  rock  and  dropped 
fairly  upon  the  traitor's  back,  who,  uttering 
a  cry  of  terror,  went  rolling  into  the  brush, 
with  Torqua  clinging  to  him  like  the  old 
man  of  the  sea.  Zizu  was  completely 
demoralized,  and  perhaps  thinking  that  a 


112   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

wild  animal  had  seized  him,  or  some  evil 
spirit,  he  struck  at  the  object  that  held 
him,  and  endeavored  to  tear  himself  away ; 
but  Torqua  had  him  in  a  grasp  of  iron, 
legs  and  arms  about  him,  and,  slipping  his 
hand  to  Zizu's  throat,  choked  him  until  he 
ceased  struggling  ;  then  he  rolled  him  over 
and  held  him  with  his  knee  on  the  chest. 

u  Torqua  !  "  hissed  Zizu,  as  he  recognized 
him. 

"  Yes,  Torqua,"  repeated  the  latter,  rising 
to  his  feet  as  Raphael  and  Arturo  ran  up. 
"What  do  you  want?" 

Zizu  refused  to  speak,  merely  glaring  at 
the  boys. 

"  Speak,  dog !  "  said  Torqua,  taking  hold 
of  his  long  black  hair  and  giving  it  a  fierce 
jerk  or  twist ;  "  speak,  and  tell  us  why  you 
are  stealing  around  here  like  a  coyote  at 
night." 

"I  was  hunting  for  a  place  to  sleep," 
retorted  Zizu. 

"  The  truth  is  not  in  you,"  said  Torqua. 
"  Do  you  know  what  our  people  will  do  to 
you  if  they  catch  you  on  the  island  ?  They 
will  burn  you  alive  as  an  offering  to  Chi- 


THE  SEA  ELEPHANT  ROOKERY.    113 

nigchinich,  the  ano  who  sold  the  secrets  of 
his  people  to  the  white  man.  They  are 
after  you.  You  were  hired  by  the  Span- 
iards to  come  over  here  and  hunt  us  down, 
but  you  ran  into  the  riata  yourself. 
To-night  you  go  to  the  Bay  of  Moons,  and 
to-morrow  our  people  will  have  a  fiesta  to 
celebrate  your  burning." 

Zizu  turned  an  ashen  color  at  these 
words,  for  he  was  a  coward  at  heart,  and 
his  small,  bead-like  eyes  seemed  ready  to 
pop  from  his  head.  He  begged  Torqua  not 
to  deliver  him  up,  and  in  broken  Spanish 
and  Apache  plead  for  his  life  with  Arturo 
and  Eaphael. 

"  You  like  a  snake,  Zizu,"  said  Torqua. 
"  So  long  as  my  foot  is  on  your  neck  you 
do  no  harm,  but  take  it  off,  you  bite." 

Zizu  plead  so  hard  that  finally  Torqua 
agreed  to  try  him,  and  ordered  him  to  go 
and  start  the  fire.  While  he  was  picking 
up  wood  Torqua  called  the  boys  aside  and 
said,  "  He  came  over  at  night,  and  has  his 
canoe  hid  somewhere.  The  Spaniards  have 
offered  him  something  to  find  out  if  we  are 
here.  If  we  let  him  go  he  will  deliver  us. 


114   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

He  dare  not  face  my  people,  as  they  will 
kill  him,  so  I  think  we  better  keep  him 
prisoner,  but  we  shall  have  to  watch  him." 

To  this  the  boys  assented,  and,  calling 
Zizu,  Torqua  told  him  that  they  would  let 
him  live  with  them  awhile,  but  at  the 
first  false  move  on  his  part  they  would 
kill  him  or  turn  him  over  to  the  people. 
Zizu  seemed  greatly  relieved  at  this,  and 
promised  to  do  anything  for  his  captors, 
but  Torqua  assured  the  boys  that  he  was  as 
treacherous  as  a  snake,  and  would  have  to 
be  watched  night  and  day. 

"At  night/'  said  Torqua  grimly,  "I  tie 
him  up."  And  when  the  boys  lay  down 
that  night  to  sleep  Zizu  was  handcuffed 
with  fishing  line  to  Torqua  on  one  side 
and  to  Raphael  on  the  other,  so  that  any 
attempt  to  escape  would  be  discovered. 
The  next  morning  Torqua  forced  him  to 
show  where  his  canoe  was  concealed  in  the 
brush  of  a  little  canon,  and  rendered  him 
harmless  by  staving  it  in,  as  all  the  canoes 
on  the  island  were  too  large  for  one  man  to 
manage.  Zizu  was  trapped,  and  he  realized 
it.  He  rarely  spoke  except  when  spoken 


THE  SEA  ELEPHANT  ROOKERY.    115 

to,  and  on  his  sullen  face  there  was  an 
expression  that  the  boys  did  not  like.  Zizu 
was  only  biding  his  time. 

"I  wish  I  had  a  new  line  for  my  har- 
poon," said  Raphael  the  next  morning,  as 
he  sat  in  the  cave  trying  to  splice  his  rope 
of  seaweed,  which  had  been  broken  in  sev- 
eral places. 

"  All  we  have  to  do,"  said  Torqua,  "is  to 
go  and  hunt  for  big  seal.  We  want  oil 
fat  and  skin  for  ropes.  Get  your  harpoons 
and  we  will  go." 

The  boys  collected  their  weapons,  and 
Torqua  gave  Zizu  an  olla  of  water  to  carry. 
The  party  then  wound  their  way  down  into 
the  canons,  and  so  on  to  the  beach. 

The  sea  wras  now  perfectly  smooth,  the 
horizon,  owing  to  a  distant  cloud  bank, 
melting  imperceptibly  into  the  sky.  The 
canoe  was  run  down  the  sands,  and  with 
four  paddles  it  was  soon  shooting  through 
the  water  like  a  living  thing,  producing  a 
feeling  of  exhilaration  in  the  boys,  which 
showed  itself  in  every  move  and  gesture. 
Torqua  had  headed  the  canoe  to  the  north, 
and  they  were  passing  one  of  the  most 


116        THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQTJA. 

precipitous  portions  of  the  island.  High 
cliffs  rose  abruptly  from  the  water,  cut  and 
worn  by  ages  of  contact  with  sea  and  ele- 
ments. Everywhere  gigantic  rocks  formed 
the  teeth  of  the  shore  line,  against  which, 
in  storms,  the  sea  ground  and  vented  its 
fury ;  rocks  which  had  been  broken  off  from 
the  cliffs  above.  Here  were  rookeries  of 
seals  and  sea  lions,  their  harsh  notes  being 
heard  as  the  canoe  shot  by,  while  clinging 
to  the  face  of  the  rocky  wall  were  groups 
of  cormorants,  which  gazed  stupidly  at  the 
passing  craft.  Mile  after  mile  dropped 
behind  the  canoe,  which  skirted  the  float- 
ing kelp  bed,  the  rocks  of  the  coast  line 
ever  changing ;  now  blazing  in  masses  of 
color, —  red,  yellow,  pink,  and  green,  or  ris- 
ing in  sombre  grays,  beyond  which  the  hills 
rose  higher  and  higher,  then  suddenly 
breaking  away  as  they  rounded  a  point, 
two  little  harbors  with  silvery  beaches, 
upon  which  the  sea  broke  with  a  musical 
roar,  and  the  town  of  Toybipet  1  coming 
into  view.  Zizu  was  evidently  troubled, 
and  kept  his  face  turned  seaward,  perhaps 

1  Now  Little  Harbor. 


THE  SEA  ELEPHANT  ROOKERY.    117 

with  good  reason,  as  on  the  beach  were 
scores  of  natives,  who,  seeing  the  canoe, 
waved  their  arms  for  the  rowers  to  come  in. 

"I  would  go  in  and  rest,"  said  Torqua, 
u  were  it  not  for  this  miserable  Zizu  ;  they 
would  kill  him." 

Zizu  was  trembling  with  fear,  and  as  one 
of  the  natives  ran  out  upon  a  point  of 
rocks  to  speak  to  Torqua,  he  dropped  into 
the  bottom  of  the  canoe.  The  boys  now 
saw  that  there  was  a  large  rancheria  on 
the  bluff,  with  many  huts,  and  they  recog- 
nized it  as  the  town  which  Torqua  had 
pointed  out  the  day  they  had  landed.  After 
shouting  a  few  moments  to  the  man,  Tor- 
qua began  to  paddle  again,  and  when  they 
had  rounded  a  rocky  point  Zizu  took  his 
place.  The  water  was  alive  with  fishes. 
Schools  of  yellowtails,  their  fins  out  of 
water,  swam  on  all  sides,  and  among  them 
huge  sea  bass.  Torqua  threw  over  a  line 
with  his  abalone  hook  baited  with  a  small 
sardine,  and  in  a  short  time  it  was  rushing 
out  like  a  living  thing.  The  boys  now 
tossed  over  their  lines,  and  the  sport  became 
fast  and  furious.  Torqua  had  an  enormous 


118       THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

yellowtail  from  the  stern,  which  dragged 
his  arms  into  the  water  in  its  fierce  rushes. 
At  the  same  time  Arturo's  bait  was  seized 
by  a  white  sea  bass,  which  darted  ahead, 
making  a  tug  of  war.  Raphael,  meantime, 
had  hooked  a  yellowtail  from  the  side,  and 
the  scene  was  laughable  in  the  extreme. 
The  boys  uttered  loud  exclamations  and 
gave  impossible  orders,  each  being  desirous 
of  saving  his  own  fish ;  but  the  two  yel- 
lowtails  ran  together,  entangling  the  lines, 
and  escaped,  leaving  Raphael  to  play  the 
bass,  which  he  did  with  no  little  skill.  The 
big  fish  rushed  hither  and  yon,  hauling 
the  canoe  around,  circling  it,  plunging  to  the 
bottom  to  rise  again  in  a  variety  of  tricks, 
with  a  view  to  escape ;  but  Raphael  man- 
aged the  noble  fish  well,  and  ultimately 
brought  it  alongside,  where  Torqua  seized 
it  by  the  gills  with  a  quick  motion,  and 
jerked  it  into  the  canoe.  He  then  held  it 
up  that  Raphael  might  observe  its  size. 

"Nearly  as  tall  as  you,  Torqua,"  said 
Arturo. 

"Almost,"  said  Torqua,  dropping  it  and 
taking  his  paddle  in  hand. 


THE  SEA  ELEPHANT  ROOKERY.    119 

Up  the  coast  they  flew  for  an  hour,  the 
rocks  becoming  higher,  more  forbidding 
and  precipitous.  Suddenly  Torqua  stopped 
paddling. 

"  Do  you  see  the  opening  ?  " 

"  Where  ?  "  asked  Raphael,  looking  about 
wonderingly. 

"Right  before  you,"  replied  Torqua, 
laughing.  "It  looks  like  a  solid  wall, 
but  the  opening  of  a  fine  port  is  in  front 
of  you." 

Even  Zizu  smiled  at  the  puzzled  expres- 
sion on  the  faces  of  the  boys,  as  they  could 
not  see  anything  but  a  high  wall  of  stone, 
beyond  which  rose  the  tops  of  moun- 
tains. Torqua  took  up  the  paddle  again 
and  with  a  few  strokes  opened  up  a  gate- 
way which  seemed  to  lead  into  the  very 
heart  of  the  island.  In  a  few  moments 
they  entered  the  gate  and  found  themselves 
in  what  the  Norwegians  call  a  fjord,  a  deep 
but  smooth  bay  surrounded  by  low  moun- 
tains. Torqua  did  not  row  directly  in,  but 
headed  the  canoe  toward  a  little  beach 
upon  the  north  shore,  and  when  they  had 
hauled  it  above  high-water  mark  he  led  the 


120   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

way  up  the  slopes.  He  had  not  gone  far 
before  the  entire  view  opened  up  and  the 
boys  looked  down  upon  the  bay  and  saw 
that  it  extended  almost  half  a  mile,  nearly 
cutting  the  island  in  two,  and  that  in  the 


Sea  Lions. 

centre  was  a  singular  cape  with  a  perfect 
curve.  On  the  inner  or  sheltered  side  of 
this  the  enormous  forms  of  some  animals 
lying  on  the  flats  were  seen. 

"  There  is  our  oil  and  rope,"  said  Torqua, 
"  what  you  Spaniards  call  ole-fat." 

"The  sea  elephant,"  said  Arturo,  laugh- 
ing. 


THE  SEA  ELEPHANT  ROOKERY.    121 

u  We  must  not  let  them  see  us.  Can 
you  swim  the  bay?"  asked  Torqua. 

"  Yes,  and  more  too/'  replied  Arturo. 

"Good,"  said  Torqua,  "follow  me." 

He  then  fastened  his  harpoon  over  his 
shoulder  and,  having  located  the  animals, 
crept  carefully  down  to  the  water's  edge. 

u  You  see,  Don  Arturo,"  he  said  as  they 
waded  out  into  the  bay,  "  if  we  took  our 
canoe  over,  they  would  hear  us  and  slide 
into  the  water,  but  we  can  swim  across, 
land,  and  creep  upon  them  before  they 


see  us." 


This  plan  was  followed  to  the  letter,  the 
boys  swimming  together,  Zizu  keeping  with 
them.  They  crossed  the  bay  and  like  seals 
themselves,  headed  by  the  Indian  boy, 
crawled  up  the  beach,  which  was  covered 
with  large  pebbles,  until  the  crest  was 
reached.  Here  were  clumps  of  low  bushes, 
through  which  they  carefully  passed,  then, 
at  a  sign  from  Torqua,  stopped.  Directly 
in  front  of  them  and  not  fifty  feet  away 
lay  the  sea  elephants,  huge,  shapeless  creat- 
ures, looking  like  gigantic  caterpillars. 
Nearly  all  were  over  ten  feet  in  length, 


122   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

and  one  colossal  bull  must  have  measured 
eighteen  or  twenty  feet. 

The  animals  had  not  the  faintest  suspicion 
of  the  presence  of  an  enemy,  and  in  low 
tones  Torqua  gave  his  instructions  to  the 
excited  boys. 

"You,  Don  Arturo,  take  the  one  to  the 
left,  Zizu  the  next ;  I  will  try  the  big  bull, 
and  you,  Don  Raphael,  rush  at  the  big  fellow 
beyond  the  bull,  and/*  continued  Torqua, 
"strike  hard,  into  the  side  behind  the 
forelegs." 

All  was  ready.  The  boys,  trembling,  it 
must  be  confessed,  with  excitement,  grasped 
their  harpoons,  got  upon  their  knees,  then, 
at  the  word  from  Torqua,  they  sprang  for- 
ward and  dashed  down  the  incline  into 
the  herd.  The  sea  elephants  awoke  at  the 
noise,  but  before  they  had  time  to  move 
the  hunters  were  among  them.  Torqua 
was  first  and  plunged  his  harpoon  into  the 
bull,  which  turned  upon  him  savagely. 
Raphael  struck  his  game  fairly,  and  as 
it  rushed  clumsily  for  the  water  he  fol- 
lowed it  and  was  rolled  over  by  another 
sea  elephant  which  came  scrambling  down 


THE  SEA  ELEPHANT  ROOKERY.    123 

the  slope.  Arturo  missed  his  mark,  the 
animal  rolling  away  so  that  the  weapon 
glanced,  while  Zizu,  who  had  never  been 
known  to  hunt  and  who  was  a  coward  at 
all  things,  fared  the  worst.  He  stood  off 
and  hurled  his  harpoon  at  a  bull,  slightly 
wounding  it,  whereupon  the  animal  charged 
him  with  open  mouth,  upon  which  he  backed 
away,  falling  over  a  log.  Before  he  could 
recover  the  enraged  sea  elephant  was  upon 
him,  seized  him,  fortunately  by  the  deer 
skin  about  his  loins,  and  with  an  upward 
jerk  of  its  powerful  head  tossed  the  unfor- 
tunate Zizu  into  the  air. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A    FIERY    STEED. 

TORQUA,  who,  stone  club  in  hand,  had 
run  in  front  of  the  sea  elephant  he 
had  struck  to  prevent  it  from  reaching  the 
water,  caught  a  glimpse  of  Zizu  as  he  was 
tossed,  and  gave  an  involuntary  shout  of 
laughter  as  the  native  fell  upon  the  back 
of  the  enraged  animal  and  rolled  upon  the 
ground. 

"  Come,  Zizu,"  he  cried,  "  show  yourself 
a  hunter." 

But  Zizu,  recovering  his  feet,  sprang  clear 
of  the  herd,  which,  demoralized,  was  rushing 
in  every  direction,  endeavoring  to  reach  the 
water.  The  boys  rallied  at  Torqua's  call 
and  succeeded  in  driving  the  wounded  ani- 
mals in  and  gradually  up  the  slope,  where 
Torqua  despatched  them  by  striking  them 
on  the  nose.  They  were  huge  creatures, 
the  male  having  a  snout  or  proboscis  six  or 


A   FIERY    STEED.  125 

eight  inches  long,  which  it  inflated  when 
enraged  and  which  gave  it  an  elephantine 
and  ferocious  appearance.  Torqua  walked 
down  the  beach  and  soon  returned  with  a 
large  olla  for  trying  out  the  blubber.  He 
then  went  to  work  cutting  up  the  skin  of 
the  animal  into  long  strips.  Every  portion 
of  the  sea  elephant  appeared  to  possess 
some  value.  Its  blubber  was  converted 
into  oil,  its  skin  into  rope,  and  its  bones 
into  handles  to  various  utensils.  Torqua 
also  carefully  pulled  out  the  whiskers,  which 
he  tied  together  to  make  brushes,  or  to  be 
used  separately  as  needles.  The  meat  was 
laid  out  to  dry.  Zizu  did  not  wait  until  it 
was  boiled,  but  ate  certain  portions  raw, 
evidently  considering  it  a  dainty.  The 
blood  from  the  animals  had  run  down  into 
the  water,  so  reaching  the  little  bay,  and 
after  a  while  the  boys  noticed  numbers  of 
large  fins  moving  vigorously  about  —  sharks 
gathering  for  the  feast. 

u  Zizu,"  said    Torqua,  "  swim   over   and 
bring  the  canoe  back." 

"I  will  go  around,"  replied   Zizu  in  the 
Indian  tongue,  furtively  gazing  with  terror 


126   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

at  the  sharks,  which  were  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  shore. 

66  No,  you  will  swim/'  said  Torqua  men- 
acingly, walking  toward  him.  "  Go/'  he 
said,  "or  I  will  throw  you  in." 

Zizu  shook  like  a  leaf,  nearly  falling  to 
the  ground,  an  abject  spectacle,  as  Torqua 
took  hold  of  him. 

"  You  are  a  coward,  Zizu/'  insisted  Tor- 
qua, and  forthwith  he  dragged  him  into  the 
water  and  waded  out  among  the  sharks,  to 
the  amazement  of  the  boys.  The  water 
was  fairly  boiling  about  the  two,  but  Tor- 
qna  dragged  the  struggling  native  out 
until  they  were  over  their  depth,  driving 
him  on,  then  following  him,  and  the  boys 
could  hear  him  taunting  the  unfortu- 
nate Zizu  for  his  cowardice  all  the  way 
over.  They  reached  the  shore  safely  and 
brought  back  the  canoe,  when  Torqua  ex- 
plained to  the  boys  that  the  sharks  were 
perfectly  harmless,  that  he  had  driven  Zizu 
in  to  punish  him  for  some  of  his  acts  of 
faithlessness  to  his  people  in  the  past. 

It  was  hard  and  disagreeable  work  to  cut 
up  the  big  sea  elephant  with  stone  and  flint 


A   FIERY    STEED.  127 

knives,  but  finally  they  obtained  what  Tor- 
qua  said  they  would  need.  The  meat  and 
skin  were  loaded  into  the  canoe,  and  leaving 
the  oil  for  a  future  trip,  the  hunters  pushed 
out  into  the  bay  and  were  soon  paddling 
down  the  rocky  coast  before  the  strong 
west  wind  which  had  now  sprung  up.  It 
was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  they  reached 
the  vicinity  of  the  canon.  Flying  fishes 
came  soaring  near  and  into  the  boat;  one 
struck  Raphael  so  violently  on  the  neck 
that  he  lost  his  balance  and  toppled  over 
backward  into  Torqua's  lap.  Then  a  re- 
markable scene  was  enacted.  A  large  fish, 
or  many,  surged  along  the  surface,  with 
albicores  and  bonitos,  dozens  leaping  into 
the  air,  while  flying  fishes  by  the  score  rose 
in  every  direction,  soaring  over  the  boat, 
presenting  a  marvellous  spectacle. 

"  Caballa !  "  shouted  Torqua,  ducking 
his  head  to  avoid  a  flying  fish.  "Caballa  ! 
Look  out  for  your  eyes  !  " 

The  boys  dropped  into  the  bottom  of  the 
canoe  to  avoid  the  flying  fishes,  and  gazed 
with  wonder  at  the  leaps  of  the  tunas. 
They  were  four,  five,  even  six  feet  in 


128   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

length,  gracefully  built,  with  yellow  fins, 
and  made  prodigious  leaps  upward  after 
the  flying  fishes,  occasionally  catching  them 
in  the  air  as  a  hawk  would  a  bird, 
turning  gracefully,  and  com- 
ing down 
like  an 
arrow. 

"  Suppose  they 
strike  the  boat?" 
said  Raphael,  as  a 
huge  fish  plunged 
into  the  water 
Flying  Fish.  within  a  few  feet 

of  the  canoe,  hurling  water  and  spray  over 
them. 

"Jump  overboard."  replied  Torqua. 
The  excitement  was  increasing,  and  now 
several  acres  of  the  ocean  surface  was  a 
mass  of  foam,  caused  by  the  rushes  of  the 
insatiate  fishes,  which,  crazed  by  the  sight 
of  their  prey,  were  now  killing  in  wanton 
sport.  The  fishes  were  gradually  moving 
to  the  south,  and  Torqua  took  up  a  coil  of 
line  obtained  in  barter  from  the  Russians, 
to  which  was  attached  a  large  bone  hook, 


A    FIERY    STEED.  129 

and  fastened  to  it  a  flying  fish  which  had 
come  aboard,  and  with  much  skill  sent  it 
whirling  into  the  school.  The  moment  it 
struck  the  surface  there  came  a  swirl  of 
waters  and  out  rushed  the  line,  Torqua  toss- 
ing over  coil  after  coil  as  rapidly  as  he  could. 

"  Drop  down  low  !  "  he  cried,  as  the  end 
came,  "flat  in  the  bottom." 

The  boys  did  so  and  not  a  moment  too 
soon,  as  the  line  was  exhausted  and  sud- 
denly came  taut.  The  canoe  was  jerked 
around  as  though  on  a  pivot  and  surged  on 
after  as  fiery  a  steed  as  was  ever  harnessed 
to  a  canoe.  The  fish  swam  directly  out 
to  sea,  taking  them  through  the  leaping 
school,  where  every  moment  the  boys  ex- 
pected to  see  a  fish  drop  into  the  canoe, 
Zizu  in  particular  casting  apprehensive  and 
terrified  glances  at  the  jumpers.  Torqua 
had  slipped  the  line  into  a  notch  in  the 
bow  of  the  canoe,  and,  leaning  back,  held  it 
down,  as  it  was  evident  that  if  the  fish,  in 
one  of  its  rushes,  got  the  line  over  the  side 
the  frail  craft  would  be  swamped.  On  the 
fish  rushed,  carrying  a  big  wave  ahead,  out 
by  the  kelp  beds  where  the  rollers  began 


130   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

to  be  felt,  headed  for  the  unknown  west. 
After  a  mile  or  more  had  been  covered  and 
the  fish  displayed  no  signs  of  letting  up, 
Torqua  hauled  on  the  line  and  passed  it 
to  his  companions,  bidding  them  haul  in. 
This  was  easier  said  than  accomplished, 
but  the  boys  lay  back  and  tugged  at  the 
line  with  all  their  strength,  gradually  gain- 
ing foot  by  foot,  until  finally  the  fish  was 
turned  and  dashed  in  the  direction  of  the 
shore,  towing  them  toward  their  own 
beach,  which  could  now  be  seen  glistening 
like  a  pearl  against  the  sombre  base  of  the 
island  shore.  Raphael  and  Arturo  could 
not  conceive  it  possible  that  a  fish  could 
tow  a  boat  so  rapidly,  or  for  so  long  a  dis- 
tance, and  watched  every  movement  of  their 
steed  with  wonder  and  amazement. 

"  How  large  do  you  think  he  is  ? " 
asked  Arturo,  wiping  the  spray  from  his 
eyes. 

"  Perhaps  as  long  as  the  canoe,"  said 
Torqua,  whose  face  was  flushed  from  the 
strain  of  holding  on  to  the  line ;  "  big 
enough  to  tow  us  all  around  the  island." 

As  he  spoke  the  line  slackened  suddenly, 


A   FIERY    STEED.  131 

and  Torqua  sprang  to  his  feet,  uttering  an 
exclamation  of  astonishment. 

"  Is  he  away  ? "  asked  Raphael,  also 
starting  up. 

"  No,  no,"  replied  Torqua,  "  but  he  may 
be  —  see !  see !  "  he  cried,  "  there  he  comes  !  " 

A  remarkable  spectacle  was  now  wit- 
nessed. The  fish  was  coming  along  the 
surface,  throwing  the  water  and  headed 
directly  for  the  canoe.  Torqua  hauled  the 
line,  hand  .over  hand;  as  rapidly  as  possible, 
but  he  could  not  keep  pace  with  the  caballa 
or  tuna,  which,  when  within  ten  or  fifteen 
feet  of  the  canoe,  turned  suddenly,  blazing 
like  a  mass  of  silver,  displaying  for  a 
moment  its  huge  proportions,  then  darted 
away  again  with  amazing  speed.  The  boys 
were  very  much  excited  at  the  manoeuvre, 
not  knowing  what  it  meant;  but  Torqua 
was  a  skilled  fisherman,  and  his  bronzed 
body  stood  firm,  his  arms  working  like 
windmills  as  he  played  the  fish,  hauling 
and  slacking.  It  was  only  a  trick  of  the 
big  fish,  an  attempt  to  break  the  line,  and 
soon  it  was  rushing  along,  towing  them  as 
before.  As  they  were  being  taken  in  the 


132    THE  ADVENTURES  OP  TORQUA. 

direction  of  home,  Torqua  did  not  attempt 
to  haul  again.  Nearer  and  nearer  they 
came  to  the  canon,  finally  passing  not  two 
hundred  feet  from  the  beach.  As  their 
untiring  steed  displayed  no  signs  of  stop- 
ping it  became  necessary  to  bring  matters 
to  a  climax,  so  Torqua  gave  the  word  and 
all  hands  hauled  on  the  line,  forcing  the 
fish  to  swim  in  a  circle  about  them,  bring- 
ing it  nearer  and  nearer,  despite  its  tre- 
mendous rushes  and  plunges.  Presently 
Raphael  cried  that  he  could  see  it  below 
them.  Up  it  came,  foot  by  foot,  fighting 
despera.tely,  Torqua  shouting  ejaculations 
of  encouragement,  the  boys,  holding,  haul- 
ing with  all  their  power.  Another  heave 
and  the  great  fish  appeared  alongside,  beat- 
ing the  water  into  foam,  swimming  sturdily 
ahead,  still  resisting  and  full  of  fight. 
Torqua  now  grasped  his  harpoon  and 
plunged  it  into  the  tuna,  then  reached  over 
and,  taking  it  by  the  gills,  lifted,  intend- 
ing to  slide  it  into  the  canoe. 

The  gunwale  was  pressed  dangerously 
low  and  just  as  the  fish  was  about  to  topple 
in  it  gave  a  mighty  lunge,  the  boys  slipped, 


A    FIERY    STEED.  133 

lost  their  balance,  and  slid  to  that  side. 
The  canoe  careened  and  foundered,  throw- 
ing the  excited  crew  into  the  water.  For 
a  moment  the  light  craft  disappeared,  then 
came  up  end  first,  shooting  into  the  air. 
Torqua  shouted  to  the  boys  to  right  her, 
as  he  still  held  the  harpoon,  having  pluck- 
ily  clung  to  it,  —  a  fact  which  was  very 
evident  when  he  disappeared  beneath  the 
surface,  the  fish  jerking  him  down.  Up  he 
came  again,  striking  out  sturdily  with  one 
arm  and  holding  the  harpoon  with  the 
other.  Eaphael  and  Arturo  had  righted 
the  canoe  and  were  now  treading  water  by 
her  side  and  pushing  her  toward  him. 
Finally  Torqua  reached  them  and  grasped 
the  canoe  by  the  rails.  All  this  required 
several  minutes,  and  as  they  clung  to  the 
canoe  Raphael  said,  "Where  is  Zizu?" 
The  Indian  had  disappeared. 

There  was  a  heavy  ground  swell  run- 
ning, making  it  difficult  for  them  to  see 
objects  on  the  water,  but  in  a  few  moments 
Torqua  exclaimed,  "  There  he  is  !  " 

As  the  swimmers  turned  they  saw  the 
dark  form  of  Zizu  crawling  out  of  the 
undertow  of  a  big  roller  upon  the  beach. 


134   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

"Coward  all  the  time,"  said  Torqua, 
dashing  his  long  black  hair  from  his  eyes. 

They  righted  the  canoe  as  well  as  they 
could,  getting  some  of  the  water  out  of 
it,  then  Raphael  swam  off  and  picked  up 
the  paddles  and  harpoon  handles  and  other 
things  which  were  floating  about,  after 
which  the  canoe  was  turned  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  beach  and  slowly  pushed  in, 
hampered  not  a  little  by  the  fish,  which 
Torqua  still  held  and  which  lunged  heavily, 
retarding  their  progress. 

It  took  them  some  time  to  reach  the 
beach,  but  finally,  on  the  crest  of  a  big 
roller,  they  went  flying  in,  and  the  canoe 
was  left  stranded.  Quickly  tipping  out 
the  water,  Raphael  and  Arturo  dragged  it 
up  the  sandy  incline,  while  Torqua  hauled 
the  tuna  above  high-water  mark. 

"  Where  is  Zizu  ? "  asked  Arturo,  who 
was  stripping  off  his  dripping  clothes. 

Torqua  started,  looked  up  and  down  the 
beach,  his  eye  following  along  the  ridge 
which  led  to  the  cave,  but  Zizu  was  not  to 
be  seen. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

A    MAN    HUNT. 

TORQUA  was  greatly  excited  at  the 
discovery,  the  boys  proportionately 
depressed,  and  they  hurried  along,  the 
Indian  running  at  the  top  of  his  speed 
toward  the  cave.  When  the  others  caught 
up  they  found  him  standing  as  one  be- 
wildered. 

"I  knew  he  would  leave  us.  I  should 
have  killed  him.  You  know,  Don  Arturo, 
it  is  the  way  of  our  people  with  prisoners 
of  war;  they  have  to  die.  But  I  knew 
your  Qua-o-ar  (God)  says  not  to  -kill,  so  I 
let  him  live,  and  now  he,  being  a  zizu 
(devil),  will  kill  us  if  he  can ;  but  nop  nom 
nahacua"  continued  Torqua,  dropping  into 
his  own  language  as  though  talking  to 
himself,  the  words  meaning  "  I  shall  hear." 
"Do  you,  Don  Arturo  and  Don  Raphael, 
stay  here  and  keep  watch  ;  one  listen  and 


136   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

one  sleep,  while  I  will  go  to  my  people  and 
tell  them  that  Zizu  is  here." 

Torqua  threw  on  his  otter  skin,  as  the 
night  was  coming  on,  and  started  down  the 
slope,  running  so  rapidly  that  his  dark 
form  was  soon  lost  in  the  shadows.  It 
was  over  two  leagues  to  the  Bay  of  Moons. 
He  knew  that  by  following  the  great  canon 
he  could  reach  it  in  two  hours,  but  as  he 
was  about  to  turn  up  the  stream  he  sud- 
denly stopped  and  stood  for  a  moment, 
seemingly  listening  to  the  soft  moaning  of 
the  wind  as  it  rustled  the  leaves.  He  was 
thinking  —  would  not  Zizu  hide  on  the 
beach  and  after  they  had  gone  steal  the 
light  canoe  and  attempt  to  reach  the  main- 
land ?  So  convinced  was  he  of  the  correct- 
ness of  this  sudden  inspiration  that  he 
turned  abruptly  and  ran  down  the  canon 
toward  the  sound  of  the  sea,  which  could 
be  distinctly  heard.  Every  foot  of  the  way 
was  well  known  to  him,  so  he  dashed  on, 
leaping  from  rock  to  rock,  bounding  over 
trunks  of  trees,  now  fording  the  little 
stream  or  crossing  portions  of  the  mesa, 
finally  coming  to  the  sand  dunes  which 


A    MAN    HUNT.  137 

made  up  the  beach.  Here  he  carefully 
crept  to  where  they  had  left  the  canoe 
hardly  an  hour  before.  There  was  a  deep 
cut  in  the  sand ;  that  was  all.  The  canoe 
was  gone. 

To  be  outwitted  by  Zizu,  to  be  played 
such  a  trick,  was  too  much  for  Torqua's 
equanimity,  and  he  began  a  frantic  dance 
against  Zizu,  after  the  fashion  of  his 
people,  which  was  supposed  to  have  a 
terrible  effect ;  but  Zizu  had  the  canoe  and 
had  escaped.  Torqua  knew  that  the  rene- 
gade Apache  was  a  poor  sailor  and  could 
with  difficulty  manage  the  craft ;  he  also 
knew  that  the  wind  was  off  shore  at  night 
and  that  it  would  be  almost  impossible  for 
Zizu  to  reach  the  mainland.  What  then  ? 
He  raised  his  eyes  and  looked  off  over 
the  water  and  far  away  saw  a  light;  a 
grass  fire  on  distant  Kinkipar,  the  island 
called  by  the  Spaniards  San  Clemente, 
named  by  Viscaino  after  St.  Clement. 

The  wind  was  favorable,  Kinkipar  was 
but  four  leagues  away.  Zizu  would  row 
there.  The  Kinkipar  people  were  not 
friendly  to  those  of  Pimug-na  and  would 


138         THE   ADVENTUKES    OF   TORQUA. 

welcome  a  spy  like  Zizu,  who  would 
promise  them  a  great  reward  from  the 
Spaniards  if  they  would  row  him  over  to 
the  mission  in  one  of  their  large  canoes. 
All  this  was  worked  out  to  a  logical  con- 
clusion in  a  very  few  moments  in  Torqua's 
active  brain,  and,  turning,  he  ran  up  the 
canon.  In  half  an  hour  he  reached  the 
wide,  broad  mesa,  what  is  now  Middle 
Kanch,  in  the  shadow  of  the  mountains, 
where  there  was  a  good  trail  winding  in 
and  out  among  the  cactus  patches.  Here 
he  made  rapid  time,  so  rapid,  indeed,  that 
in  little  over  two  hours  he  came  in  sight  of 
the  bay,  saw  the  lights  of  the  rancherias, 
and  a  few  moments  later,  breathless  and 
excited,  bounded  into  the  hut  of  his  father, 
the  chief.  The  very  name  of  Zizu,  the 
traitor,  aroused  the  natives,  and  as  they 
crowded  about  and  listened  to  Torqua's 
explanation  they  all  agreed  that  he  was 
wise,  that  Zizu  would  make  for  Kinkipar, 
and  decided  that  they  would  overtake  him 
or,  in  any  event,  would  send  a  war  party 
over  to  demand  him. 

The  warriors  of  ancient  Avalon  were  men 


A    MAN    HUNT.  139 

of  action.  They  gathered  their  arrows, 
bows,  and  war  clubs  at  once,  some  of  the 
women  brought  out  dried  seal  meat  and 
placed  it  in  the  large  canoes,  others  filled 
the  ollas  with  water  from  the  spring,  while 
here  and  there  loud  wailing  rose,  a  dirge 
for  the  memory  of  some  relative  who  had 
been  lost  in  former  wars  with  the  people  of 
the  off-shore  island.  The  squaws  crowded 
around,  bearing  the  arms  of  their  fathers, 
brothers,  and  husbands.  The  chiefs  or  cap- 
tains of  each  lodge  were  provided  with  long 
stone  clubs,  —  terrible  weapons,  — while  all 
had  spears  of  wood  with  flint  points,  and 
bows  and  arrows.  Many  of  the  Indians 
had  knives  of  flint  and  other  stone,  several 
bore  clubs  or  swords  formed  of  the  ribs  of 
the  whale,  while  others  again  were  pro- 
vided with  weapons  like  hammers,  stones 
bound  to  clubs,  to  fling  at  or  strike  down 
an  enemy.  There  was  great  excitement. 
Young  warriors  strutted  about  before  the 
admiring  gaze  of  the  young  squaws.  It 
was  their  first  war  expedition.  Some 
boasted  what  they  would  do  to  the  Kinki- 
pars  and  Zizu,  while  above  all  rose  the 


140        THE   ADVENTURES    OF    TORQTJA. 

wailing  dirge  from  the  old  women,  telling 
of  death  and  despair. 

In  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time  the 
warriors  were  ready.  They  now  ran  the 
large  war  canoes  down  to  the  water  and 
with  wild  shouts  leaped  in,  soon  being  lost 
in  the  deep  shadows  which  hung  about  the 
base  of  the  island. 

Torqua  had  watched  the  exciting  scene 
with  shining  eyes  and  longed  to  join  them, 
but  he  knew  that  there  was  a  possible 
chance  that  Zizu  might  have  sailed  for  the 
mainland,  in  which  event  he  would  lead 
back  a  party  of  soldiers  directly  to  the  cave ; 
and,  being  loyal  to  his  young  friends,  he 
had  decided  that  it  was  his  duty  to  re- 
turn to  them. 

What  pangs  it  caused  him  to  resist  going 
on  the  first  war  party  that  it  was  possible 
for  him  to  engage  in  can  be  imagined,  as 
to  distinguish  one's  self  in  battle  was  a 
sentiment  which  pervaded  every  savage 
breast,  and  the  young  men  in  the  tribe 
were  not  considered  warriors  until  they  had 
engaged  in  actual  war.  So  it  was  with  feel- 
ings of  disappointment  that  Torqua  turned 


A   MAN    HUNT.  141 

upward  over  the  mountain  trail.  The 
moon  had  risen,  the  stars  shone  brightly, 
and  each  bush  and  tree  cast  a  sharp  shadow 
on  the  trail  before  him.  Turning  to  rest 
after  a  steep  climb,  he  faced  the  ocean  and 
saw  the  moon,  a  river  of  light,  blazing  its 
way  across  the  sea.  As  he  looked,  several 
objects  moved  into  its  path,  were  for  a 
moment  illumined  by  its  radiance,  then 
disappeared.  It  was  the  fleet  of  canoes, 
the  war  party  moving  against  the  ancient 
enemy  of  Pimug-na  to  demand  by  force  of 
arms  the  traitor  Zizu. 

Torqua  would  be  called  a  sentimentalist 
to-day,  as  he  was  easily  and  strongly  af- 
fected by  Nature ;  beautiful  scenery,  the 
sea,  beauty,  bravery,  all  kindled  his  blood, 
aroused  him  to  action;  and  now,  overcome 
by  the  charm  of  the  night,  he  stood  drink- 
ing it  in,  wondering  at  the  wild  thoughts 
which  swept  through  his  brain.  Tobaquar, 
the  whole  earth,  sea  and  land  and  stars 
of  the  sky,  seemed  to  be  spread  before 
him.  At  his  feet  glistened  the  fires  of  the 
rancherias,  and  he  could  hear  the  crackling 
as  the  women  piled  on  more  brush.  Then 


142   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

the  wind  sighed  through  the  holly  trees, 
the  air  seemed  to  tremble  with  a  rustling 
sound.  To  Torqua  the  leaves  of  a  tree 
were  its  ears  (nanah),  and  he  wondered 
if  they,  too,  heard  the  mystic  sounds  of 
night,  the  musical  whispering,  the  tinkling 
of  wild  grasses,  the  notes  of  the  night 
hawk,  or  the  never-ceasing  cry  of  the 
cricket.  As  he  stood  on  the  edge  of  the 
divide  every  sound  from  far  below  came 
with  striking  distinctness. 

Suddenly  a  strange  cry  —  "  cu,  cu,  cu"  — 
rent  the  air.  Torqua's  knees  trembled  as 
he  listened.  He  had  heard  the  old  men  of 
his  tribe  tell  of  the  bird  Cuwot,  a  mysteri- 
ous creature  which  had  never  been  seen,  a 
creature  of  the  dark  night  which  cried  "  cu, 
cu,  cu ;"  a  bird  so  gigantic  that  it  once  car- 
ried a  warrior  across  the  river  at  Yang  (Los 
Angeles).  Torqua  stopped  not  to  consider 
that  it  might  be,  as  it  was,  the  squeaking 
of  a  limb,  but  turned  and  ran,  startling  a 
large  hawk,  which  rose  screaming  above 
him,  which  Torqua  was  positive  was  the 
bird  Cuwot,  and  which  lent  wings  to  his 
feet  as  he  dashed  up  the  mountain,  reach- 


A   MAH   HUNT.  143 

ing  the  temple  of  Chinigchinich,  where, 
breathless,  he  flung  himself  down  among 
the  eagle  arid  raven  feathers  at  the  base 
of  the  grotesque  statue  of  the  god,  safe  at 
last,  saved  from  the  Cuwot. 

How  long  he  lay  there  he  did  not 
know,  but  the  sun  was  illumining  the 
peak  of  Orizaba  when  he  answered  the  call 
of  Don  Arturo  and  entered  the  cave,  look- 
ing very  much  bedraggled.  He  at  once 
related  his  experiences,  not  excepting  his 
narrow  escape  from  the  Cuwot,  which  he 
took  as  a  bad  omen. 

"  You  may  laugh,"  said  Torqua,  as  the 
boys  looked  credulous  at  his  tale,  "but 
if  you  ever  hear  the  cry  of  the  Cuwot  on  a 
dark  night,  look  out  for  yourself  ;  it  brings 
misfortune." 

The  Indian  was  so  confident  that  some 
ill  was  about  to  befall  them  that  he  in- 
sisted upon  the  boys  leaving  the  cave,  nor 
could  they  dissuade  brave  Torqua  from  it. 
The  superstition  of  ages,  the  inheritance  of 
untold  generations  could  not  be  changed  in 
a  night,  so  the  boys  made  preparations  to 
leave.  The  large  mortars  and  ollas  were 


144   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

buried,  then  taking  their  weapons  and 
packs  they  followed  their  Indian  friend  up 
along  the  mountain  ridge. 

"If  Zizu  cornes  back/'  the  latter  said, 
"  he  will  lead  his  people  to  the  cave  for  his 
reward ;  if  we  stay  there,  we  will  be  caught. 
It  is  warm  ;  now  the  rains  are  over  we  can 
sleep  in  the  hay  or  grass." 

Half  an  hour  later  they  came  to  a  dense 
grove  of  cotton-woods  in  a  deep  canon,1  in 
which  a  small  stream  flowed  musically. 
In  the  grove  was  a  patch  of  grass,  now  hay, 
which  was  so  high  that  an  enemy  could 
pass  within  a  few  feet  without  seeing  them. 
Torqua  threw  down  his  pack  and  went 
down  the  stream  a  short  distance,  return- 
ing with  a  stone ;  by  repeating  the  trip  he 
built  up  a  fireplace,  then  grinding  some 
grass  into  a  compact  mass  he  ignited  it 
with  two  pieces  of  flint,  waving  the  ball  in 
the  air  in  a  peculiar  way  until  it  broke  into 
flame,  completing  the  operation  so  quickly 
that  it  aroused  the  admiration  of  his  com- 
panions. 

"  We  have  metals  —  gold,    silver,   iron, 

1  Cotton-wood  canon. 


A   MAN   HUNT.  145 

copper,  brass  —  out  of  which  vessels  are 
made,  while  you  have  only  stones,  shells, 
wood,  and  bone ;  yet  you  have  almost 
everything  you  need  to  obtain  food  and 
cook  it,"  remarked  Arturo,  watching  the 
flames. 

Torqua  laughed  as  he  thrust  a  quail, 
that  he  had  knocked  down,  on  a  stick  and 
prepared  to  hold  it  over  the  fire. 

"  Yes ;  but  I  would  use  the  Spanish 
things  if  I  could  get  them.  To  make  ollas, 
spears,  arrowheads,  is  hard  work.  Come 
with  me  and  I  will  show  you  where  the 
ollas  are  made  for  all  the  country.  My 
people,  the  Pimug-nas,  were  famous  war- 
riors, sea  fighters,  and  the  richest  of  all  the 
tribes.  They  had  the  secret  of  olla-mak- 
ing,  and  sold  them  to  the  people  on  the 
shore,  sending  over  canoe-loads  at  a  time." 

As  he  spoke  Torqua  turned  the  quail  on 
the  long  stick.  This,  with  two  more,  he 
served  with  red  ripe  tunas.  After  the 
meal  he  covered  up  the  fire  and  led  the 
way  up  the  canon.  It  was  a  deep  gulch  to 
the  north  of  Orizaba,  filled  in  places  with 

trees.     Raphael  said  it  was    the  canon  of 
10 


146   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

meadows,  but  Torqua  said,  "  Why  call  them 
by  name,  like  a  man,  there  are  so  many  ?  " 

They  passed  through  patches  of  cactus 
and  up  a  steep  slope,  where  the  canon 
widened  out  and  great  ledges  of  grayish 
rock  cropped  out  here  and  there.  Torqua 
went  up  to  one,  and  after  hunting  around 
brought  out  from  the  brush  an  olla  half 
completed,  several  flint  knives,  scrapers,  and 
hammers.  He  then  pointed  to  the  rocks, 
and  the  boys  saw  that  nearly  every  one 
was  scarred,  as  though  something  had  been 
broken  off.  On  one  boulder  an  object  like  a 
cannon  ball  stood  out,  and  every  ledge  bore 
several  of  the  round  objects  in  various  stages, 
from  a  flat  disk  to  an  almost  perfect  ball 
ready  to  be  broken  off. 

"  This  is  where  my  people  make  ollas," 
said  Torqua  proudly.  "  The  rock  is  soft 
(steatite  or  soapstone),  and  they  take  a 
knife  like  this  ; "  and  suiting  the  action  to 
the  word,  he  began  to  chip  the  soapstone 
in  a  circle,  outlining  an  olla.  "  This  takes 
days,  sometimes  a  moon  before  the  ball 
is  worked  out.  This  one  I  cut  myself," 
and  he  stepped  over  to  a  rock  where  a  ball 


A   MAN   HUNT. 


147 


was  complete.  Taking  up  a  heavy  stone, 
he  struck  the  attached  ball  a  quick  blow, 
severing  it  from  the  rock.  "  Now  all  you 
have  to  do,"  he  continued,  "  is  to  dig  it  out. 
Old  squaw  must  do  that." 


Olla  Partly  Worked  Out. 

Torqua  led  them  from  ledge  to  ledge, 
nearly  all  bearing  an  olla  in  some  stage. 
Finally  they  passed  over  the  divide  and 
faced  the  blue  sea  or  channel,  beyond 
which  rose  the  peaks  of  the  Sierra  Madre 
range.  Part  way  down  the  slope  was  a 
rocky  mass,  which  the  boys  discovered  was 


148   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

a  small  mountain  l  of  soapstone,  covered 
on  the  south  slope  with  scars  where  the 
ollas  had  been  broken  off,  while  the  ground 
all  about  was  strewn  with  ollas,  perfect, 
broken,  and  in  all  stages,  mixed  with  flint 
knives,  showing  that  the  manufactory  had 
been  in  operation  for  years. 

Torqua  had  climbed  upon  the  mountain 
and  stood  looking  out  over  the  blue  chan- 
nel, when  suddenly  he  uttered  an  exclama- 
tion and  came  running  down. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Arturo. 

"  Capa  monies  —  goats,"  replied  Torqua, 
pointing  to  a  neighboring  peak.  "  Do  you 
see  those  white  and  black  spots  against  the 
rock  ?  " 

The  boys  looked  in  the  direction  indi- 
cated and  finally  made  out  the  animals. 

"It  is  lucky  we  brought  our  bows  and 
arrows  ;  we  can  have  barbecued2  goat  for 
supper.  I  remember  how  Padre  Ansel  mo 

1  This  ancient  olla  manufactory  at  Empire  Landing 
was    rediscovered   in    1876   by  Mr.    Paul   Schumacher, 
representing  the  Smithsonian.     Many  of  the  unfinished 
ollas,  are  still  to  be  seen  as  they  were  left  by  Torqua's 
people. 

2  Roasted  over  hot  coals. 


A   MAN    HUNT.  149 

taught  me  how  to  make  what  he  call  '~bar- 
bacoaj  "  and  Torqna  smacked  his  lips  and 
rubbed  his  stomach  with  the  palm  of  his 
hand.  "  You  cut  a  piece  of  meat,  run  it 
on  a  willow  pole,  and  turn  it  slow,  very 
slow,  over  hot  coals,"  and  Torqua  turned 
his  bow  as  he  spoke,  "  turn  very  slow  until 
it  all  cooked  black ;  then  eat.  Alala  !  Padre 
Anselmo  like  his  stomach ;  he  must  have 
been  cook  for  the  king  ;  he  tell  so  much. 
He  like  chili  Colerado,  chili  con  came  —  " 

"Hold  on,"  cried  Arturo,  "you  make 
me  hungry.  If  we  can  kill  a  goat,  let  us 
have  this  famous  barbecue." 

"  Good  ! "  exclaimed  Torqua.  "  Come," 
and  down  the  slope  he  ran,  stopping  at  a 
little  spring  that  had  made  a  green  patch 
on  the  hillside,  where  they  knelt  down 
and  took  a  long  drink,  then  in  single  file, 
Torqua  leading,  they  ran  down  the  slope. 

Torqua's  plan  was  to  gain  the  opposite 
side  of  the  mountain  and  creep  upon  the 
goats,  and  after  a  hard  and  tiresome  climb 
of  an  hour  they  found  themselves  clinging 
to  the  rough  face  of  a  cliff  down  from 
which  reached  a  dizzy  precipice. 


150   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

"  Don't  slip/'  cautioned  Torqua,  whose 
bare  feet  fitted  into  the  crevices  like  a 
goat's  hoofs.  "  One  slip  and  you  roll  — 
roll — never  stop." 

The  boys  found  it  safer  not  to  look  at 
the  abyss,  and  moved  along  clinging  to 
the  ledge,  finally  coming  to  a  shelf,  up 
which  they  climbed,  bringing  them  nearly 
to  the  summit. 

"Now,"  whispered  Torqua.  "creep  over 
the  edge  and  shoot  as  quick  as  you  see 
them." 

With  arrows  fixed,  they  flattened  them- 
selves out  and  crept  along  over  the  rocks. 
Suddenly,  with  startling  distinctness,  came 
the  bleating  cry  of  a  young  goat,  and 
not  ten  feet  from  them  a  little  kid  sprang 
upon  a  rock  and  stood  eying  them  with 
wonder  and  surprise.  Its  innocence  and 
utter  helplessness  must  have  appealed  to 
the  boys ;  even  the  savage  heart  of  Torqua, 
that  had  been  trained  to  laugh  at  sym- 
pathy, was  apparently  touched  by  the  sight, 
as  he  made  no  movement.  The  kid  hopped 
down,  its  little  hoofs  clinking  on  the  rocks. 
Then  the  three  hunters  sprang  to  their 


A   MAN    HUNT.  151 

feet  and  appeared  like  apparitions  to  the 
herd  upon  a  ledge  immediately  below  them. 
Twang  !  twang  !  twang  !  sounded  the  bows, 
and  a  buck  with  large  horns  and  long, 
bushy  beard  leaped  into  the  air  and  went 
crashing  down  the  mountain,  while  a  half- 
grown  goat  was  so  badly  wounded  by 
Arturo  that  Torqua  sprang  forward  and 
seized  it.  Eaphael  alone  had  missed.  They 
had  enough  meat,  and  after  putting  the 
dying  animal  out  of  its  misery,  Torqua 
lowered  himself  down  the  cliff  and  secured 
his  game. 


CHAPTER   XIY. 

AN    OTTER   HUNT. 

TORQUA  hauled  his  goat  to  the  upper 
ledge,  skilfully  skinned  it,  and  taking 
the  best  portions,  threw  them  over  his  bare 
shoulders,  and  led  the  way  down  the  moun- 
tain. The  sun  was  overhead,  beating  down 
so  hot  and  pitilessly  that  they  were  glad  to 
reach  the  head  of  the  cotton-wood  canon 
where  the  high  brush  afforded  them  pro- 
tection. Here  the  hunters  met  a  party  of 
Indians  travelling  from  the  isthmus  town 
of  Sonag-na  to  the  Bay  of  Moons,  and 
asked  them  to  join  them,  and  an  hour  later 
they  were  lying  under  the  cotton-woods  at 
the  camp,  through  which  a  cool  breeze 
swept,  watching  Torqua  barbecue  a  goat,  an 
interesting  and  savory  operation.  Tomat,1 
an  old  Indian,  assisted.  The  haunch,  pierced 
by  a  long  pole,  was  held  over  the  glowing 

1  Lightning. 


AN    OTTER   HUNT.  153 

coals  and  turned  continually,  Tomat  holding 
it  until  his  face  became  almost  blistered, 
then  Torqua  relieved  him  until  the  meat 
had  been  thoroughly  browned,  when  it  was 
torn  in  pieces  and  handed  around. 

After  this  Tomat  brought  out  his  pipe,  a 
curious  object  resembling  a  funnel,  ten  inches 
in  length  and  made  of  the  same  soft  stone 
which  was  used  in  making  ollas.  In  the 
smaller  end  was  fitted  a  mouthpiece  of  bone 
from  the  leg  of  a  bird,  which  was  held  in 
place  by  asphaltum.  Tomat  filled  the 
straight  pipe  with  native  tobacco,  lighted 
it,  and,  bending  his  head  far  back  so  that 
the  tobacco  would  not  drop  or  roll  out,  took 
several  puffs  and  passed  it  to  his  neighbor. 
The  odor  of  this  native  tobacco  reached 
Raphael  and  Arturo,  and  was  so  singularly 
sickening  and  nauseous  that  they  made  an 
excuse  to  rise  and  step  aside  when  the  pipe 
reached  them. 

"  My  people  will  not  like  you  to  refuse," 
said  Torqua,  with  an  ill-concealed  smile. 

"  Tell  them  that  I  am  homesick,"  said 
Arturo  jokingly. 

"  And  for  me,"  said  Raphael,  "  say  that 


154   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

I  have  taken  an  oath  to  Saint  Catherine  of 
the  island  not  to  smoke  for  two  moons  as 
a  penance,  and  cannot  break  it." 

Torqua  explained  this,  but  the  old  Indian 
held  out  the  pipe  and  insisted,  with  a  jargon 
that  was  undoubtedly  a  strong  protest  and 
an  argument  in  favor  of  their  showing 
their  friendship.  So  the  boys  reluctantly 
accepted  the  pipe  in  turn,  took  a  puff,  and 
passed  it  on.  After  the  pipe  had  been 
passed  Tomat  took  from  his  back  an  otter 
skin,  which  he  unrolled,  displaying  a  num- 
ber of  bones  of  various  sizes,  from  one  ten 
inches  long  to  the  leg  bone  of  a  small  bird. 
These  were  perforated  with  holes  at  regular 
intervals,  and  the  large  one  was  ornamented 
with  bits  of  pearly  abalone  fastened  to  the 
bone  with  asphaltum.  These  objects  were 
musical  instruments,  whistles  and  flutes, 
and  with  much  ceremony  Tomat  handed 
them  around.  Then,  observing  that  each 
guest  was  supplied,  he  gave  a  shrill  whistle 
upon  the  leg  bone  of  a  deer  as  a  signal, 
and  every  one  joined,  producing  a  medley 
of  sounds  that  must  have  startled  the  birds 
in  the  bush.  Each  player  followed  his  own 


AN   OTTER   HUNT.  155 

taste  and  inclination  as  to  the  sounds. 
There  was  unanimity  upon  but  one  point ; 
this  was  the  degree  of  noise  produced. 
Every  one  blew  as  loudly  as  possible,  and 
Raphael  and  Arturo,  not  to  be  outdone  in 
the  gentle  art,  being  skilled  upon  the 
Italian  piccolo,  produced  so  many  remarkable 
sounds  that  the  amazed  Indians  gradually 
ceased  and  listened.  Then  Tomat  handed 
Arturo  his  ornamented  flute,  who,  after 
trying  it  and  finding  that  it  was  something 
like  an  ordinary  piccolo,  managed  to  produce 
some  simple  Spanish  airs,  which  so  excited 
and  pleased  the  old  Indian  that  he  began 
to  dance  and  sing.  The  dance,  Torqua 
said,  described  the  coming  of  the  seasons, 
the  raindrops  and  flowers,  and  consisted 
principally  of  stamping  heavily  upon  the 
ground,  looking  very  fierce,  and  shouting 
with  a  gutteral  sound  and  breathing  heavily. 
Finally  the  old  Indian  addressed  Arturo 
and  Torqua,  explained  that  he  was  a  famous 
musician  and  maker  of  musical  instru- 
ments,1 and  that  he  presented  the  bone  flute 

1  The  author  has  taken  several  of  these  flutes  from  the 
mounds  of  the  Catalina  Islands.  They  were  buried  with 
their  owners. 


156   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

to  Arturo  in  appreciation  of  his  musical 
gifts.  Arturo  asked  Torqua  to  thank  the 
old  man,  and  told  him  that  he  would  play 
for  him  at  any  time. 

"  I  think,"  he  continued,  examining  the 
flute,  "  that  I  could  improve  on  this.  I 
never  expected  to  make  music  from  a  deer's 
leg." 

The  Indians  now  rose  and,  after  express- 
ing their  good  will,  left  the  camp  for  the 
Bay  of  Moons,  Tomat  playing  as  he  went, 
while  Arturo  sounded  his  instrument  until 
the  last  naked  figure  disappeared  over  the 
divide. 

"  When  are  we  to  see  the  white  otter  ?  " 
asked  Arturo,  as  they  lay  in  the  grass  after 
the  departure. 

"  Quen  sake"  replied  Torqua,  laughing. 
"  I  have  seen  but  two  in  all  my  life,  but  I 
know  where  there  is  one,  and  we  will  go 
and  look  to-day.  If  you  want,  we  can  get 
plenty  of  others,  black  otter." 

"  Good  !  "  cried  Raphael.  "  What  think 
you  of  a  white  otter  shirt  for  me,  Torqua  ?  " 
he  said,  pointing  to  his  ragged  shirt. 

"  Black   otter    good    for    winter,"    said 


AN   OTTER   HUNT.  157 

Torqua.  "  Now  summer,  this  good/'  and 
he  slapped  his  naked  skin. 

"  But  my  skin  burns  and  blisters/'  said 
Raphael.  "  How  is  it  that  you  don't, 
Torqua  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know/'  replied  Torqua.  "  Your 
face  don't  burn,  Don  Raphael.  Torqua's 
skin  all  face." 

The  boys  laughed  heartily  at  this  clever 
explanation,  and  as  their  clothes  and  shoes 
had  worn  out  it  was  evident  that  the  time 
had  come  when  they  would  have  to  go 
almost  naked,  as  did  the  Indians  in  summer, 
or  dress  in  skins ;  so,  as  otter  skins  were 
best  adapted  for  clothes,  they  were  eager 
for  the  hunt.  As  they  might  not  return 
for  a  day  or  more,  they  took  some  dried 
meat  in  their  packs,  their  bows,  arrows,  and 
spears,  and  macanas,  and  with  Torqua  in 
the  lead  began  the  march  down  the  canon 
to  the  south  coast.  They  followed  the 
stream  that  was  eddying  along  beneath  the 
branches  of  trees  and  bushes,  now  disap- 
pearing altogether  in  the  sand,  to  reappear 
later  on  where  the  deep  shadows  prevented 
evaporation.  Torqua,  whose  high  spirits 


158        THE   ADVENTURES    OF   TORQtTA. 

could  not  be  restrained,  sang  a  quaint  song, 
that  startled  the  birds  as  he  strode  along : 

"  Non  im  mainoc,  ni  mainoc, 
Non  im  mainoc,  ni  mainoc, 
Yobare," 

which  he  translated  to  the  boys  : 

*'  I  do  what  I  am  doing, 
I  do  what  I  am  doing, 

O  church." 

Torqua's  songs  seemed  to  have  little  mean- 
ing, but  they  were  musical  and  the  boys 
encouraged  him. 

"  When  you  hear  birds  sing  and  see 
beautiful  things,"  cried  Torqua,  "  you  sing 
this  : 

"  Nop  nom  nahacua, 
Non  im  nahacua, 
Alala ! ' 

"  Meaning  '  Thou  shalt  hear  the  things  that 
I  hear,'  arid  as  a  chorus  '  Alala,'  meaning 
'  Oho,  oho ! '  '  which  was  shouted  loudly 
and  made  a  great  deal  of  noise,  —  a  strong 
feature  in  all  native  music. 

"  I   shall    never    learn   your    language, 


AN   OTTER   HUNT.  159 

Torqua,"  cried  Arturo,  after  many  laugh- 
able efforts  to  sing  the  song. 

"  So  I  say  to  Father  Anselmo  about 
Espanol,"  replied  Torqua.  "  I  was  one, 
two  years,  before  I  could  speak ;  before 
then  it  was  all  sign.  But  I  learn;  you  see 
I  speak  Spanish  very  fine,  Don  Arturo." 

Torqua' s  Spanish  was  two-thirds  Spanish 
and  one-third  Indian,  and  the  boys  often 
guessed  at  his  meaning,  but  they  did  not 
dispute  his  claims  to  linguistic  powers. 

"  Ah,  Spanish  is  easy  to  learn,"  replied 
Raphael,  but  Torqua  made  a  wry  face  as  he 
thought  of  the  lessons  and  the  strappings 
he  had  jointly  received  from  the  Padre  of 
the  mission.  As  they  strode  along  Torqua 
suddenly  gave  a  shout  of  delight  and  ran 
up  a  canon  and  was  soon  climbing  a  small, 
smooth-leaved  tree,  which  the  boys  saw 
was  loaded  with  cherries.  When  they  tried 
to  eat  them  the  cherry  proved  to  be  almost 
all  stone,  but  Torqua  gathered  quantities  of 
the  fruit,  and  later  he  pounded  the  seeds  in 
a  stone  mortar  and  formed  a  paste,  which, 
when  cooked,  resembled  frijoles.1  Near  the 

1  Beans. 


160   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

cherry  trees  grew  a  plant  resembling  a 
thistle,  which  bore  small,  gray,  oblong  seeds 
called  chia,  which  were  ground  and  made  into 
a  meal  which  the  boys  found  palatable,  in 
the  absence  of  bread.  Now  and  then  shoot- 
ing partridge  or  dove,  chasing  the  diminu- 
tive foxes,  with  loud  shouts  they  entered 
fully  into  the  delights  of  this  wonderful 
outdoor  life,  and  it  was  well  along  in  the 
afternoon  when  they  came  to  the  end  of 
a  canon,  where  the  water  fell  over  a  boulder 
into  a  fern-lined  pool  and  was  lost  in  the 
sand  dunes.  The  trees  clustered  around 
the  rock,  forming  a  natural  hut  or  arbor. 

"  Here  we  will  sleep  to-night,"  said 
Torqua,  throwing  down  his  pack. 

He  quickly  built  a  fire,  and  after  a  dinner 
of  roast  partridge  arid  tunas  they  walked 
down  to  the  sandy  beach  and  made  their 
way  around  the  wild  and  jagged  stones 
which  had  rolled  down  from  the  mountains 
here  to  form  the  shore  line.  Twenty  or 
thirty  yards  from  the  rocks  the  kelp  ex- 
tended, the  long,  olive-hued  leaves  lying 
prone  upon  the  surface,  the  entire  mass 
rising  and  falling  with  each  incoming  wave 


AN    OTTER   HUNT.  161 

and  forming  a  complete  breakwater  to  the 
coast.  This  submarine  forest  was  the  home 
of  the  sea  otter,  the  animal  lying  in  the 
kelp  leaves. 

Torqua  dropped  behind  the  rocks  and 
began  to  work  his  way  along  so  that  his 
body  would  not  be  seen,  in  which  he  was 
closely  followed  by  his  companions.  Every 
few  feet  he  would  rise  carefully,  and  from 
some  vantage  scan  the  kelp  bed.  They 
finally  reached  a  large  rock  which  rose 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  from  the  ocean,  evi- 
dently surrounded  at  high  tide.  Climbing 
up  the  sides  of  this  the  boys  took  refuge  in 
a  cleft  of  the  rock,  from  which  they  could 
see  the  kelp  bed  for  a  long  distance.  The 
rocks  were  covered  with  broken  abalone 
shells,  showing  that  it  had  been  frequented 
by  other  otter  hunters.  Torqua  was  engaged 
in  telling  the  boys  about  the  white  otter 
he  had  seen  here,  when  suddenly  he  grasped 
Arturo  by  the  arm  and  pointed  to  the 
kelp.  In  a  little  open  place  not  two  feet 
square  they  saw  the  head  of  some  animal, 
which  might  have  been  that  of  a  large 

cat.     It  had  bright  eyes  and  was  glancing 
11 


162   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

sharply   about,    as    though    expecting    an 
enemy. 

For  a  moment  or  two  Torqua  did  not 
move ;  he  might  have  been  a  part  of  the 
dark  rock  upon  which  he  crouched ;  then 
he  began  an  almost  imperceptible  move- 


Sea  Otter. 

ment,  bringing  his  bow  and  arrow  into 
position.  In  the  meantime  the  sea  otter 
seemed  to  have  satisfied  herself  that  there 
was  no  danger  and  with  utter  abandon 
threw  herself  upon  her  back,  feet  up  in  the 
air,  and  then  the  hunters  saw  that  there 
were  two  animals,  —  a  small  otter  not  over 
eight  inches  long  which  had  up  to  this  time 
been  concealed  by  its  mother.  The  little 


AN    OTTER   HUNT.  163 

one  was  very  playful  and  crawled  upon 
her,  then  she  took  it  in  her  arms  very 
much  as  a  mother  would  her  child,  tossed 
it  upward,  turning  it  over,  tapping  it  with 
her  paws,  diving  beneath  it,  playing  hide- 
and-seek  among  the  kelp  leaves,  and  in 
many  ways  displaying  maternal  affection. 
A  score  of  times  Torqua  was  about  to  shoot 
as  the  otter  exposed  herself,  but  the  boys 
stayed  his  hand  and  begged  him  to  spare 
her.  Again,  if  she  should  be  killed,  what 
would  become  of  the  baby  otter  ?  Torqua 
listened  to  these  whispering  arguments  of 
Arturo  and  Raphael  with  utter  amazement. 

"  But  we  came  to  get  otters,"  he  whis- 
pered, his  fingers  playing  on  the  bowstring. 

"  Not  that  one,"  cried  Arturo ;  "  not  that 
little  mother.  I  never  could  wear  her  skin 
as  a  shirt.  Every  time  I  put  it  on  I  should 
think  of  this  scene." 

Torqua  looked  at  his  two  companions 
with  growing  astonishment,  and  deep  in  his 
savage  heart  he  began  to  suspect  that  per- 
haps his  friends  were  very  strange  in  the 
head. 

"Well,"  whispered  Torqua,  "you  do  not 


164        THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

have  to  wear  it.  I  shall  be  glad  to  get  it 
for  myself,"  and  he  drew  back  his  bow ;  as 
he  did  so  Kaphael  sprang  to  his  feet  and 
with  a  loud  shout  sent  the  otters  scurrying 
away  out  of  danger.  Torqua  was  inclined 
to  be  angry  at  first,  then  he  burst  into 
laughter.  "  We  come  otter  hunting  for 
nothing  !  "  he  cried. 

"No,  no,"  answered  Arturo,  "  we  spare 
that  one  because  it  was  so  much  like  a 
human  mother  and  child." 

This  made  Torqua  laugh  the  more,  and 
he  finally  explained  that  all  otters  played 
in  a  similar  way,  and  that  if  they  spared 
them  for  that  reason,  they  would  never  get 
one.  The  boys  were  somewhat  nonplussed 
at  this,  but  they  kept  under  cover,  and 
finally  Arturo  thought  he  saw  a  small 
black  object  swimming  towards  them  just 
beyond  the  kelp.  It  proved  to  be  an  otter, 
perhaps  on  a  fishing  expedition.  On  it 
came,  swimming  rapidly,  and  as  it  reached 
a  point  exactly  opposite,  Torqua  drew  his 
bow.  The  otter  turned  and  bit  at  itself, 
then  commenced  to  beat  the  water  and 
swim  in  a  circle,  whereupon  Torqua  threw 


AN    OTTER   HUNT.  165 

down  his  bow  and  plunged  from  the  rock, 
swimming  for  the  struggling  animal.  As 
he  approached,  it  attempted  to  dive,  but  it 
was  pierced  through  with  the  arrow  and 
turned  and  menaced  him  with  a  vicious 
snarl ;  but  Torqua  seized  it  by  the  leg  and 
towed  it  to  the  rock,  where  he  despatched 
it  and  drew  it  up  for  the  inspection  of  his 
companions,  who  admired  its  glossy  fur  or 
pelt.  The  young  hunters  concealed  them- 
selves again,  sweeping  the  kelp  bed  with 
their  eyes,  watching  for  the  faintest  ripple 
on  the  water  which  might  tell  of  the  otter. 
Torqua  had  climbed  a  higher  point,  and  as 
the  boys  were  about  dropping  off  into  a 
siesta  after  a  long  watch  they  heard  him 
utter  a  suppressed  sound  to  attract  their 
attention,  and  looking  in  the  direction  in- 
dicated, saw,  not  one,  but  four  or  five  heads 
coming  down  the  kelp  bed.  One  was  very 
light  indeed.  As  it  came  nearer  it  appeared 
white,  and  Torqua  leaned  toward  them  be- 
hind the  rock  and  whispered  excitedly, 
"The  white  otter!" 

It  was  the  rarest  of   animals,  without 
doubt,  and  presently  it  leaped  partly  from 


166   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

the  water,  showing  its  entire  form  of  pure 
white.  Torqua  quickly  gave  his  directions. 
They  were  all  to  shoot  at  the  word,  aiming 
just  below  and  back  of  the  head.  The 
otters,  like  seals  and  sea  lions,  had  a  habit 
of  swimming  along  the  kelp  bed,  and  the 
party  was  indulging  in  this  pastime.  As 
they  passed  the  rock  not  thirty  feet  away 
the  boys  let  fly  at  them,  the  arrows  striking 
in  the  midst  of  the  pack,  causing  a  great 
commotion,  two  being  wounded  ;  but  the 
white  otter,  the  one  their  hearts  were  set 
upon,  dashed  away  under  water.  It  had 
escaped,  as  usual,  protected  as  Torqua  firmly 
believed  by  some  especial  charm.  Arturo 
and  Raphael  dashed  overboard  to  secure 
the  game  and  drew  two  fine  otters  to  the 
rock.  As  they  crawled  up  they  saw  that 
Torqua  had  reached  the  highest  pinnacle  of 
the  point  and  was  looking  out  to  sea,  talk- 
ing to  himself  in  an  excited  manner. 

"What  is  it,  Torqua?"  cried  Raphael, 
tossing  his  otter  down  and  shaking  his 
black  hair  furiously,  making  the  water  fly. 

Torqua  did  not  reply ;  he  merely  pointed 
seaward,  and  following  the  direction  of  his 


AN    OTTER   HUNT.  167 

arm  they  looked  and  made  out  a  fleet  of 
large  canoes,  at  least  twenty  in  number, 
loaded  with  men,  coming  up  the  coast  from 
the  direction  of  Kinkipar.  They  were  half 
a  league  from  shore,  but  the  boys  could  see 
the  foam  beneath  the  paddles  and  the  white 
spray  under  the  bows  as  the  canoes  plunged 
into  the  waves,  urged  on  by  the  sturdy 
arms  of  the  native  rowers. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ZIZU     ESCAPES. 

TORQUA  was  puzzled.  The  canoes 
were  shaped  like  those  of  his  people, 
but  they  were  twice  the  number  which 
made  up  the  fleet  that  had  sailed  for 
Kinkipar  to  demand  the  surrender  of  Zizu. 
Again,  they  were  headed  to  the  north  and 
were  moving  rapidly  away  from  the  Bay 
of  Moons  and  its  vicinity.  Torqua  watched 
them,  bidding  the  boys  keep  out  of  sight  un- 
til they  had  passed  a  long  point  to  the  north; 
then,  after  rapidly  skinning  the  otters,  they 
swam  ashore,  the  tide  having  surrounded 
the  rock,  and  made  their  way  slowly  to  the 
beach,  finding  their  camp  as  they  had  left 
it.  Torqua  was  very  quiet,  considering 
their  successful  hunt  and  the  three  fine  otter 
skins  hanging  on  the  limb.  He  built  the 
fire,  made  cakes  of  wild  cherry  seed,  roasted 
some  doves,  and  after  they  had  eaten, 
suddenly  announced  that  they  had  better 


ZIZU    ESCAPES.  169 

go  down  to  the  rancheria,  Toybipet,  at  the 
two  harbors  to  find  out  what  the  fleet  of 
canoes  meant.  In  a  word,  Torqua,  easily 
influenced  by  signs  and  tokens,  had  a  pre- 
monition that  something  was  wrong,  and, 
packing  the  skins,  the  party  started,  climb- 
ing the  steep  hogback,  descending  into 
another  canon,  repeating  this  until  the  cave 
was  reached.  They  were  surprised  to  see 
a  light  there,  and  were  soon  hailed  by  a 
stalwart,  naked  Indian,  who,  like  a  sentinel, 
jumped  up  from  behind  a  rock.  He  was  a 
kinsman  of  Torqua,  and  after  an  excited 
conversation  and  much  gesticulation  the 
latter  turned  to  the  boys. 

"  This  is  a  messenger  who  has  run  from 
the  Bay  of  Moons  to  tell  all  our  people  to 
get  ready  for  war,  to  look  for  the  enemy. 
Our  people  met  a  strong  force  of  warriors 
at  Kinkipar,  twice  their  number,  in  a  big 
fleet  of  canoes  from  the  north.  Our  people 
gave  them  battle,  but  were  not  strong 
enough  to  take  them.  They  have  gone 
and  taken  Zizu  and  they  may  land  here." 
Torqua  told  the  Indian  messenger  about 
the  fleet,  and,  taking  their  arms,  -the  party 


170   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

started  over  the  mountains  for  the  town  at 
the  little  harbors,  which  the  enemy  might 
have  concluded  to  raid.  The  rancheria 
was  less  than  a  league  away,  and  in  little 
over  an  hour  they  came  to  the  broad  mesa 
covered  with  huts,  high  above  the  sea ;  a 
shout  brought  out  a  crowd  of  men,  women, 
children,  and  dogs.  The  men  had  seen 
the  fleet  of  canoes  pass  an  hour  before,  and 
had  concluded  that  they  were  going  to  the 
islands  of  "Nicalque  or  Limun,  far  to  the 
north.  The  messenger  from  the  chief  ran 
on  to  warn  the  people  at  the  isthmus  towns 
of  Sonag-na,  Cicacu,  and  beyond,  while 
Torqua  and  the  boys  went  to  one  of  the 
huts  to  remain  all  night.  The  house  was 
of  brush,  with  a  frame  of  ribs  of  the  whale 
banked  up  around  the  bottom  with  •  dirt, 
with  a  hole  in  the  roof  for  the  smoke  to 
find  its  way  out.  The  floor  was  covered 
with  skins  of  sea  lion,  sea  elephant,1  and 
those  of  the  pelican,  while  from  the  rafters 
hung  others,  baskets,  and  weapons  of  all 
kinds.  In  the  hut  was  the  owner,  Sho-ot,2 
a  relative  of  Torqua's,  his  two  wives  and  sev- 

1  The  last  sea  elephants  were  killed  in  or  about  1850. 

2  Rattlesnake. 


ZIZU   ESCAPES.  171 

eral  children  and  dogs.  As  the  guests  came 
in  the  women  presented  them  with  abalone 
shells  containing  boiled  fish  and  cakes  of 
chia  seed,  while  the  host  brought  out  a  fine 
pipe  of  stone,  inlaid  with  pearl,  lighted  it, 
and  passed  it  around.  The  Indians  did  not 
appear  to  be  alarmed  at  the  rumors  of  war ; 
they  merely  posted  a  sentinel  on  the  bluff, 
others  on  the  trail,  and  then  gave  all  their 
attention  to  a  matter  of  more  consequence, 
—  a  wedding.  After  the  supper  the  boys 
wandered  around  the  rancheria.  The 
young  men  were  playing  games  ;  some  were 
engaged  at  churckur&i,  which  consisted  in 
guessing  in  which  hand  a  player  had  a 
stick,  the  men  becoming  so  excited  that 
they  wagered  almost  anything  they  pos- 
sessed. Others  were  playing  clmrcharaJce, 
a  game  of  throwing  split  reeds;  while 
others  again  played  hararicuar,  hurling  a 
lance  through  a  stone  ring  suspended  from  a 
limb  by  a  thong.  Many  of  the  men  were 
very  skilful  at  this,  especially  Torqua,  who 
excited  the  admiration  of  the  squaws  by 
shooting  his  arrow  through  a  ring  which 
was  swinging  to  and  fro. 


172   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

The  marriage  took  place  the  following 
morning.  The  groom,  a  tall,  muscular 
Indian,  had,  according  to  custom,  notified 
all  his  relatives,  and  they  gathered  at  his 
hut  early  in  the  day,  bringing  shell  money, 
beads,  and  skins  as  gifts.  When  all  had 
assembled  they  formed  in  line,  and  marched 
to  the  hut  of  the  bride.  Here  were  assem- 
bled her  relatives,  and  to  them  the  money 
and  gifts  were  paid  and  at  once  divided  up, 
after  which  they  called  in  a  body  upon  the 
groom  and  presented  him  and  his  relatives 
with  baskets  filled  with  chia  meal.  Every- 
thing was  now  ready  for  the  ceremony,  and 
Torqua  escorted  the  boys  to  the  bride's  hut 
that  they  might  see  her  wealth,  which 
consisted  of  innumerable  strings  of  beads 
hanging  from  her  neck.  Her  cheeks  were 
painted  a  fiery  red ;  her  dress  was  made  of 
the  finest  otter  skins  and  the  plumage  of 
rare  sea  birds. 

The  vicinity  of  the  hut  was  crowded  with 
sight-seers,  and  Torqua  forced  his  way 
among  them  and  called  loudly,  "  Oma !  " 
Oma  was  the  Hercules  of  the  island,  the 
strongest  man,  and  as  he  drew  near  every 


ZIZU   ESCAPES.  173 

one  stood  back.  He  approached,  and,  throw- 
ing his  arms  about  the  bride,  lifted  her 
high  on  his  shoulder  and  began  carrying 
her,  with  a  dancing  step,  to  the  house  of 
the  groom,  followed  by  the  crowd,  shouting 
and  screaming  with  laughter  :  her  relatives 
following,  throwing  chia  seeds  and  cher- 
ries into  the  air,  the  guests  scrambling  and 
fighting  for  the  gifts,  all  of  which  increased 
the  excitement.  As  the  bridal  party  neared 
the  groom's  hut  his  friends  came  out,  took 
the  bride  from  Oma,  and  continued  dancing 
along,  placing  her  beside  her  husband.  Bas- 
kets of  seed  were  now  thrown  over  the  two, 
the  crowd  scrambling  and  scuffling  for  them, 
the  ceremony  being  complete  when  the  last 
seed  was  taken.  This  strange  feast  was  to 
be  celebrated  by  a  big  fish,  according  to 
Torqua,  and  the  whole  village  trooped 
down  to  the  rocks  and  took  their  stations 
in  the  stony  amphitheatre.  The  small 
canoes  or  balsas  were  launched,  each  hold- 
ing two  fishermen,  who  were  the  contestants. 
They  paddled  out  one  hundred  feet  or  more 
from  the  shore,  then  threw  over  heavy  lines 
baited  with  fishes,  which  weighed  several 


174   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

pounds,  and  began  to  fish,  encouraged  or 
otherwise  by  the  gibes  and  shouts  of  the 
crowd  on  the  rocks.  Finally  one  of  the  lines 
was  taken  and  the  canoe  began  to  move  out 
of  the  bay,  the  men  pulling  and  hauling, 
while  the  crowd  on  the  shore  followed 
along  the  rocks,  many  dashing  into  the 
water  and  swimming  out  to  the  canoes,  rid- 
ing the  waves  and  giving  to  the  water  an 
animated  appearance.  The  contest  was  a 
long  one,  the  canoe  being  almost  tipped 
over  several  times ;  but  ultimately  a  mon- 
ster fish  1  six  or  more  feet  in  length,  of  a 
dark  mahogany  color,  and  weighing  sev- 
eral hundred  pounds,  was  brought  alongside 
and  despatched,  but  not  before  it  had 
nearly  filled  the  craft.  The  swimmers 
now  surrounded  the  canoe  and  began  to 
push  it  in,  while  others  took  the  rope  and 
painter  in  their  teeth  and  swam  in  with  it. 
In  the  meantime  Arturo  and  Raphael  had 
joined  the  crowd  on  the  beach,  who  were 
building  a  fire  on  a  heap  of  abalone  shells  and 
stones.  Upon  this  the  huge  fish  was  hauled, 
a  dozen  men  performing  the  service. 

1  Black  sea  bass  (Stereolepis  gigas). 


ZIZU    ESCAPES.  175 

"  Fish  barbecue  !  "  said  Torqua,  as  the 
savory  odors  began  to  rise. 

When  it  was  perfectly  cooked  the  Indians 
fell  to  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  all 
that  remained  of  the  monster  fish  were  the 
head  and  bones.  That  night  the  messenger 
came  back  and  reported  that  the  people 
of  a  rancheria  at  the  north  end  of  the  island 
said  that  they  had  seen  the  fleet  of  twenty 
canoes  sailing  to  the  north,  in  the  direction 
of  the  islands  of  Nicalque  and  Enneeapah. 

"  Zizu  has  deserted  his  people,"  said 
Torqua,  "  but  some  day  he  will  sell  them 
again." 

The  impending  danger  being  over,  he 
suggested  that  they  return  again  to  the  cave 
and  build  a  canoe  to  replace  the  one  stolen 
by  Zizu,  Torqua  having  found  a  huge  log 
on  the  beach. 

So  the  boys  parted  with  their  new  friends 
and  began  the  long  tramp  over  the  hills. 
Before  they  had  travelled  far  and  when 
they  crossed  a  divide  that  overlooked  the 
sea,  Torqua  stopped  and  listened.  There 
came  from  far  out  to  sea  a  strange  moan- 
ing sound,  the  water  itself  had  a  peculiar 


176        THE   ADVENTURES    OF   TORQTJA. 

glassy  appearance,  and  the  sky  had  taken 
on  a  coppery  hue.  A  storm  was  coming, 
there  could  be  no  doubt  of  that,  and  before 
the  canon  beach  was  reached  it  burst  upon 
them,  blowing  a  hurricane  out  of  a  clear 
sky,  lifting  the  sand  aloft  in  weird  shapes, 
which  coiled  upward  to  be  hurled  against 
the  face  of  the  mountains.  The  sea  pounded 
upon  the  beach  with  such  force  that  the 
very  earth  appeared  to  shake,  and  the  spray 
and  foam  from  great  breakers  caught  by  the 
wind  was  blown  far  inland,  buffeting  the 
boys  so  fiercely  that  they  gave  up,  and  made 
their  way  to  the  cave,  where  they  listened 
to  the  roaring  of  the  wind  far  into  the 
night.  So  fierce  was  the  wind,  so  loud  the 
noise  of  crashing  branches,  that  sleep  was 
almost  impossible,  and  ever  and  anon  Tor- 
qua,  after  some  particularly  heavy  blast, 
would  leap  to  his  feet  and  cover  his  head 
with  a  skin  as  though  to  shut  out  some 
terrible  nightmare. 

"What  is  it,  Torqua?"  sleepily  called 
out  Arturo,  after  Torqua  had  done  this  four 
or  five  times. 

"  The  Cuwot   bird,  Don  Arturo,"  whis- 


ZIZU   ESCAPES.  177 

pered    Torqua    in   faltering    tones;    " lis- 
ten !" 

But  the  boys  could  hear  nothing  but  the 
warring  of  the  elements,  the  distant  roaring 
of  the  sea. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THE   WRECK    OF    THE    GALLEON. 

THE  following  morning,  as  the  storm 
had  somewhat  spent  its  fury,  the 
boys  ventured  out,  and,  attracted  by  the 
roar  of  the  sea,  made  their  way  down 
the  divide  to  the  beach,  where  Torqua  said 
many  shells  would  be  washed  ashore.  So 
violent  was  the  wind  that  they  dodged 
in  and  out  behind  rocks  and  bunches  of 
cactus,  being  almost  blown  from  the  trail 
at  times.  In  this  way  they  at  last  reached 
a  huge  rock  which  rose  directly  from  the 
ocean,  forming  one  side  of  the  canon,  high 
above  it.  As  Torqua  ran  out  upon  it  he 
uttered  a  loud  shout  and  stood  pointing 
downward.  Arturo  and  Raphael,  who  were 
some  steps  behind,  ran  ahead,  and  fol- 
lowing the  direction  of  his  arm  saw  a 
sight  which  drove  the  very  blood  from 
their  cheeks.  Not  an  eighth  of  a  league 
away  a  big  galleon  was  rushing  on  to  cer- 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  GALLEON.   179 

tain  destruction.  All  her  sails  had  been 
carried  away ;  her  yards  were  bare  except 
here  and  there  a  rag ;  her  rigging  was  in 
threads,  the  ropes,  like  whisps  of  hair,  fly- 
ing hither  arid  yon.  She  was  completely 
unmanageable,  or  seemingly  so,  and  was 
driving  in  upon  the  wall  of  rock  under 
bare  poles.  The  sea  was  pitiless  and  ter- 
rible, breaking  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  and  so  high  that  when  the  devoted 
craft  descended  it  seemed  to  the  three  boys 
that  she  would  never  rise  ;  but  her  high 
bow  and  poop  seemingly  prevented  her 
from  foundering.  Men  could  now  be  seen 
upon  her  decks,  waving  for  help,  and  the 
boys  closed  their  eyes  to  shut  out  the  im- 
pending horror  as  a  huge  roller  lifted  the 
craft  in  air  and  shot  her  ahead  like  an 
arrow  from  a  bow,  the  sea  almost  cover- 
ing her.  But  on  she  came,  careening  fright- 
fully ;  then  she  righted  and  kept  head  on, 
telling  of  brave  men  at  the  helm. 

"  Can  we  do  nothing,  Torqua  ?  "  cried 
Arturo,  his  face  white  at  the  sight. 

Torqua  waved  both  hands  in  air  in  an 
impassioned  manner  in  reply. 


180        THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQTJA. 

"  But  we  must !  "  cried  Arturo,  shouting 
the  words  against  the  gale.  "I  cannot 
stand  here  and  see  men  coming  on  to  sure 
death." 

"  What  we  do  ?  "  responded  Torqua. 
u  I  would  help  if  I  could,  but  there  is  only 
one  thing  for  them  ;  what  the  Padre  teach. 
I  ask  my  god  Chinigchinich  to  help  them/' 

The  boys,  partly  abashed  at  being  re- 
minded of  this  by  Torqua,  gazed  at  him 
a  moment  and  then  sent  up  a  silent  prayer 
to  their  patron  saint  to  intercede  for  these 
doomed  men.  On  the  ship  came,  now  not 
a  cable  length  distant.  They  could  dis- 
tinctly see  the  men  on  the  deck  below  them, 
and  Arturo  was  confident  that  he  made 
out  a  woman.  He  ran  out  upon  the  rock, 
waving  his  arms,  Torqua  rushing  ahead, 
all  seized  with  the  idea  of  letting  the 
death-stricken  mariners  know  that  human 
beings  were  near.  Down  they  went,  crawl- 
ing, slipping,  sliding,  hanging  over  preci- 
pices, clinging  to  slippery  ledges,  crouching 
when  the  fierce  blasts  came,  then  hurry- 
ing on  until  they  found  themselves  on 
the  face  of  the  cliff,  perhaps  two  hundred 


THE    WRECK    OF    THE    GALLEON.        181 

feet  above  the  boiling  sea.  The  galleon 
was  now  on  the  setback  or  wash  of  the 
waves.  There  was  no  shoal  or  reef  on  this 
side  of  the  mountain  island.  The  granite 
walls  rose  precipitately  from  water  hundreds 
of  feet  deep,  and  the  doom  of  the  ship  was 
to  crash  into  the  iron  wall  and  be  ground 
into  ten  thousand  pieces.  On  she  came, 
now  riding  a  tremendous  billow,  rising 
almost  on  end,  then,  caught  on  the  crest, 
came  rushing  at  the  wall  of  rock.  The 
boys  saw  the  figures  on  the  deck,  heard  the 
despairing  cries  of  lost  men,  shut  their  eyes 
in  very  terror  and  clung  faint  and  trem- 
bling to  the  ledge  as  the  galleon  struck  and 
seemed  lost  in  a  mass  of  foam  and  spume 
that,  shroud-like,  crept  upward  higher  and 
higher.  When  the  boys  looked  down  again, 
to  their  surprise  they  saw  a  mast  standing, 
and  as  the  foam  and  spray  cleared  it  be- 
came evident  that  the  galleon  had  struck 
bow  first,  her  hull  seemingly  wedged  in  be- 
tween two  rocks  which  held  her  firmly. 

"  They  may  be  saved  yet!  "  cried  Arturo, 
starting  on,  followed  by  the  others. 

By  careful  climbing  they  reached  within 


182    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

fifty  feet  of  the  top  of  the  mast,  from  which 
point  they  could  see  three  persons  clinging 
to  the  high  poop-rail,  surrounded  by  a  very 
cauldron  of  boiling  and  seething  waters. 
All  the  shrouds  had  been  carried  away 
and  were  swinging  from  the  crosstrees,  and 
there  was  no  way  for  the  wrecked  men 
to  ascend  the  cliff. 

"  If  we  had  a  rope  we  could  haul  them 
up,"  cried  Arturo  excitedly.  "  I  know  we 
can  do  it;"  and  lowering  himself  down  from 
the  shelf  he  reached  another,  and  there 
finding  a  ledge  which  might  have  been  used 
by  wild  goats,  followed  it  along  and  tried 
to  send  a  shout  of  cheer  downward  through 
the  flying  scud.  The  boys  could  see  that 
one  of  the  wrecked  party  was  a  woman, 
now  lashed  to  the  rail.  Torqua  swung 
himself  out  upon  the  mast  that  was  wedged 
into  the  rock,  Arturo  and  Eaphael  followed, 
and  seizing  the  longest  rope  within  Breach 
they  endeavored  to  sever  it.  They  had  noth- 
ing but  shell  knives,  but  with  indomitable 
courage  they  set  to  work  wildly  sawing, 
cutting,  filing,  even  biting,  shouting  unin- 
telligible words  to  those  below  and  hearing 


THE   WRECK   OF    THE    GALLEON.        183 

shouts  in  return.  Every  moment  they  ex- 
pected to  see  a  wave  grind  the  galleon  in 
pieces,  but  she  had  turned  upon  her  side  so 
that  the  seas  struck  her  oak  bottom  and 
wrenched  and  splintered  it  slowly  ;  in  fact, 
she  had  been  tipped  over  and  wedged  be- 
tween two  jutting  rocks  of  the  cliff,  and  was 
almost  immovable.  Every  moment  seemed 
an  age,  but  finally  Torqua  severed  the  rope, 
and  with  a  wild  hurrah  of  encouragement 
lowered  it  away. 

It  blew  to  one  side  in  the  gale  and  lashed 
the  rocky  cliff,  but  the  men  caught  it  and 
the  boys  saw  them  throw  it  around  the 
waist  of  the  woman.  The  mast  was  stand- 
ing at  an  angle  of  about  sixty  degrees  and 
she  clung  to  it  as  a  guide,  while  the  three 
boys,  who  had  reeved  it  through  a  block, 
began  to  haul.  How  desperately  they 
pulled,  lifted,  and  strained  for  this  human 
life  !  They  had  but  a  shelf  to  stand  on, 
but  by  taking  a  turn  about  the  mast  they 
surely  gained,  foot  by  foot,  and  shortly  had 
the  woman  halfway  up.  Her  face  was 
deathly  pale  and  she  seemed  almost  ready 
to  faint,  but  Arturo's  words  in  Spanish 


184    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

seemed  to  revive  her,  and  she  answered 
him  and  seemed  to  gain  renewed  courage. 
Inch  by  inch,  foot  by  foot,  slowly  along 
the  mast  came  the  woman,  and  finally 
Arturo  reached  down  and  saw  that  she  was 
a  young  girl,  not  over  fourteen  years  old, 
who  now  stretched  out  her  hand  and  was 
hauled  upon  the  shelf. 

A  glad  shout  went  up  against  the  gale, 
to  be  answered  from  far  below.  A  few 
moments  later  one  of  the  men  was  hauled 
up,  and,  being  strong  and  vigorous,  he  made 
better  headway  and  was  soon  aiding  his 
rescuers  in  saving  the  second  and  last  man. 
As  he  was  drawn  upon  the  ledge  both  men 
began  in  voluble  Spanish  to  thank  their 
rescuers.  Out  of  a  large  crew  they  were 
the  only  ones  saved.  They  were  in  the 
cabin  when  the  ship  struck,  thinking  that 
all  was  over.  This  was  their  salvation,  as 
every  one  on  deck  was  swept  away  as  the 
galleon  struck  the  rock. 

Led  by  Torqua,  the  party  began  the  climb 
up  the  cliff,  a  most  dangerous  proceeding, 
as  the  wind  was  sufficient  to  blow  them  off, 
while  the  sea,  where  it  struck  the  rocks, 


THE  WRECK  OF  THE  GALLEON.   185 

swept  upward  with  irresistible  force  and 
more  than  once  engulfed  them.  But  Tor- 
qua  was  an  expert  climber.  He  had  fas- 
tened the  rope  about  the  young  girl,  placing 
her  in  the  centre,  he  himself  taking  the 
lead,  and  in  this  manner,  foot  by  foot,  tied 
together,  they  made  their  way  up  the  face 
of  the  wall,  so  steep,  so  terrible  in  its 
exposure,  that  even  the  black  cormorants 
did  not  frequent  it.  The  ascent  took  them 
over  an  hour,  constant  resting,  hunting  for 
secure  places  occupying  the  time ;  but 
finally  Torqua  and  the  boys  reached  the 
upper  rock,  and  with  a  glad  shout  dragged 
the  party  up  behind  its  sheltering  walls, 
safe,  sound,  rescued  from  the  wild  and 
pitiless  sea. 

The  elder  of  the  men  introduced  himself 
to  the  boys  as  Senor  Delagoa,  who,  with 
his  daughter  Inez,  was  returning  from  the 
Philippines  to  Spain.  Their  companion, 
Captain  Ignacio  Hurtaldo  of  His  Majesty's 
Navy,  was  also  a  passenger.  The  galleon, 
loaded  with  treasure,  had  been  blown  out 
of  her  course  by  a  severe  storm,  and  in  a 
terrible  hurricane  which  had  been  blowing 


186    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

for  three  days  had  been  almost  dismasted 
and  so  had  been  driven  upon  the  rock-bound 
island,  whose  very  name  the  navigators  did 
not  know.  There  was  but  one  thing  to  do. 
The  boys  led  the  way  to  the  cave,  and,  after 
making  the  strangers  as  comfortable  as 
possible,  went  to  the  seashore  again,  and 
returning  before  night  with  abalones,  some 
fish,  and  a  wild  goat,  the  wrecked  people 
soon  had  reason  to  believe  that  they  had 
fallen  into  hospitable  hands. 

"  But  how  comes  it,"  a-sked  Senor  Del- 
agoa,  "  that  I  find  two  Spanish  gentlemen 
on  this  desert  island?'* 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

THE    WRECKERS. 

BEFORE  Arturo  or  Raphael  had  an 
opportunity  to  reply  to  this  question, 
Torqua  interrupted  and  with  a  significant 
glance  at  the  boys  asked  them  to  help 
him  bring  some  water.  Observing  that  he 
had  some  good  reason  for  his  action,  they 
excused  themselves  for  a  moment  and  fol- 
lowed Torqua  down  the  slope,  somewhat  to 
the  astonishment  of  Seiior  Delagoa  and  his 
companion. 

"If  I  make  your  heart  sick,  Don  Raphael," 
said  Torqua  when  they  were  out  of  ear- 
shot, meaning  if  he  had  offended  them, 
"  I  am  sorry,  but  I  want  to  say,  be  careful 
what  you  tell  to  these  people.  They  are 
Spanish  ;  they  may  be  officers.  They  will 
hire  iny  people  to  take  them  to  the  main- 
land, then  they  will  tell  the  soldiers  of 


188   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

their  salvation  by  you,  and  they  will  hunt 
us  down  and  carry  us  back." 

"  I  did  not  think  of  that,"  said  Arturo. 

"  Nor  I,"  added  Raphael.  "  They  have 
the  secret  of  the  cave,  and  we  are  at  their 
mercy." 

"  Not  if  you  leave  it  to  me,"  replied 
Torqua,  dropping  his  olla  to  the  ground. 

"  What  do  you  propose  ?  "  asked  Raphael. 

"I  say  we  keep  them  prisoners  for  a 
while  until  we  find  out  what  they,  do." 

"How  can  we  do  it  ?  " 

"Easy,"  said  Torqua.  "Frighten  them; 
make  them  think  that  my  people  will  kill 
them,  then  we  can  make  them  stay  until 
they  agree  not  to  tell  the  Spaniards  about 
us." 

"  I  dislike  to  do  this,"  said  Arturo  hesi- 
tatingly ;  "  still,  we  have  ourselves  to  look 
out  for.  What  say  you,  Raphael  ?  " 

"  I  think  Torqua  is  right,"  replied  the 
latter.  "But,"  he  added,  laughing,  "let 
him  do  the  talking.  I  cannot  deceive  the 
young  lady.  How  beautiful  she  is !  Did 
you  notice  her  eyes  ?  " 

"  I  did  indeed,"  said  Arturo. 


THE   WRECKERS.  189 

It  was  finally  agreed  that  they  were  to 
say  little  and  Torqua  was  to  be  chief. 
After  filling  their  ollas,  they  slowly  climbed 
the  hill  and  again  entered  the  cave. 

"  You  must  allow  us  to  do  our  share  of 
the  work/'  said  Senor  Delagoa.  uHurtaldo 
and  myself  are  old  campaigners,  and  my 
daughter,  Inez,  can  do  something." 

"  Yes,"  assented  the  young  girl,  and  she 
continued,  a  slight  flush  suffusing  her  beau- 
tiful face,  "  I  wish  to  thank  Don  Arturo, 
Don  Raphael,  and  Senor  Torqua  for  rescu- 
ing us.  Without  their  bravery  we  should 
have  been  the  victims  of  a  frightful  death." 

Torqua  was  much  elated  at  being  ad- 
dressed as  Senor  Torqua  and  for  a  moment 
fairly  lost  his  tongue,  but  the  boys  rallied 
and  assured  the  young  girl  that  it  had 
made  them  very  happy  to  have  been  the 
means  of  their  succor. 

"  You  see,  Senors,"  said  Torqua,  observ- 
ing his  opportunity,  "  we  three  were  also 
wrecked  here  and  were  very  near  drowning 
as  we  came  ashore.  There  are  on  the 
other  side  of  the  island  wild  savages,  and 
you  must  by  no  means  let  them  see  you. 


190   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

After  a  while  we  will  try  and  escape  to 
the  south  and  reach  San  Diego,  twenty 
leagues  off." 

"  We  are  in  your  hands,"  said  Senor 
Delagoa,  "  and  I  am  sure  we  shall  agree. 
In  any  event,  we  shall  do  as  you  say,  and 
we  hope  to  constitute  one  of  your  party, 
sharing  all  the  burdens." 

This  was  very  satisfactory,  and  the  boys, 
aided  by  the  Spaniards  and  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Torqua,  immediately  began  to  build 
a  hut  of  boughs  against  the  rock,  the  mate- 
rial being  brought  up  from  the  canon,  and 
by  night  they  had  two  additional  rooms, 
the  cave  being  given  up  to  the  young  girl 
and  her  father,  while  the  four  others  occu- 
pied the  hut,  which  with  its  piles  of  hay 
was  very  comfortable. 

Although  it  was  evident  that  Inez  had 
never  performed  any  work,  she  insisted  on 
learning  to  cook,  mended  the  boys'  clothes, 
and  in  a  score  of  ways  made  herself  useful, 
and  by  her  gentle  and  lovable  disposition 
endeared  herself  to  them.  She  saw  that 
they  were  very  reticent  as  to  their  past 
and  never  questioned  them,  nor  did  the 


THE    WRECKERS.  191 

rescued  men  display  any  curiosity.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  talked  much  about 
themselves.  Senor  Delagoa  was  a  rich  mer- 
chant of  Madrid  and  Captain  Hurtaldo  a 
naval  officer  returning  to  Spain  after  ser- 
vice in  the  Philippine  Islands.  The  rescued 
party  were  very  careful  not  to  wander 
away  from  camp,  and  soon  fell  into  the 
ways  of  the  boys.  But,  as  Torqua  said, 
the  end  would  come  some  day,  as  his  peo- 
ple would  surely  come  up  to  the  beach. 

For  a  week  nothing  happened  and  no 
one  was  seen.  The  party  went  daily  to  the 
shore  or  to  hunt  for  birds,  and  by  their 
combined  efforts  the  larder  was  kept  filled. 
One  day  Senor  Delagoa  suggested  that  they 
go  and  see  if  the  galleon  had  disappeared, 
so  they  walked  down  to  the  place  of  their 
rescue.  Torqua  went  ahead,  and  by  climb- 
ing out  upon  a  ledge  looked  down  upon  the 
spot.  As  he  pulled  himself  up  he  cried, 
"  Alala ! "  and  waved  his  hands.  The 
others  soon  joined  him,  and  to  their  sur- 
prise saw  the  galleon  almost  intact  in  the 
same  position,  wedged  into  the  cleft  in  the 
rock,  her  stern  now  high  in  air ;  in  fact,  as 


192   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

the  tide  was  low,  the  entire  ship  was  out 
of  the  water. 

"  This  means  provisions,  guns,"  said 
Senor  Delagoa. 

"And  clothes,"  said  Inez,  glancing  at 
the  boys,  whose  garments  of  skins  were 
suggestive  of  a  limited  wardrobe. 

"Suppose  you  go  down,  Torqua,  and  see 
what  there  is,"  said  Arturo. 

"  We  all  go  in  the  canoe,"  replied  Tor- 
qua, his  eyes  glistening  at  the  prospect  of 
loot. 

"  True,"  answered  Arturo,  "  the  water  is 
perfectly  smooth." 

They  made  their  way  to  the  beach, 
launched  the  large  canoe,  and  after  paddling 
for  a  mile  along  the  kelp  beds  came  to  the 
wreck.  She  was  just  above  the  water,  but 
the  seas  had  played  havoc  with  her  bottom, 
tearing  out  many  timbers ;  while  ropes  and 
hawsers  hung  from  her,  swinging  in  the 
wind.  Making  the  canoe  fast,  Torqua 
climbed  a  rope  and  stood  upon  the  deck  of 
the  galleon,  where  the  others  joined  him, 
leaving  Inez  in  the  canoe.  By  a  singular 
chance  the  cabin  was  intact,  and  it  was 


THE    WRECKERS.  193 

apparent  that  had  the  crew  gone  below  they 
would  have  been  saved.  Torqua  lowered 
himself  into  the  hold  and  reported  that  it 
was  filled  with  goods,  and  came  out  flour- 
ishing a  long  sword  which  he  had  found 
in  the  armory. 

"  The  light  things  we  can  hoist  up,"  said 
Senor  Delagoa ;  "  the  others  we  can  lower 
into  the  canoe  or  raft  them  around." 

It  was  the  time  of  year  when  more 
storms  might  be  expected,  according  to 
Torqua,  so  work  was  begun  at  once.  The 
canoe  was  filled  with  clothing  and  arms, 
—  guns  and  pistols,  kegs  of  powder  and 
shot,  —  and  Torqua  broke  open  .  a  box 
filled  with  doubloons  and  coin,  part  of 
the  treasure.  They  made  three  or  four 
trips  with  the  canoe  that  day,  piling  the 
goods  on  the  beach,  taking  them  up  to  the 
cave  at  night.  Among  other  things  were 
a  sail  or  two,  which  they  made  into  a  tent. 
The  following  day  they  lowered  over  two 
of  the  booms,  using  blocks  and  tackle,  and 
with  the  planking  of  the  partitions  formed 
a  good  raft.  On  this  was  lowered  a  variety 
of  goods,  —  a  complete  set  of  sails,  several 


13 


194      THE    ADVENTURES    OF   TORQUA. 

boxes  of  tools,  the  property  of  the  ship 
carpenter,  barrels  of  provisions,  dishes,  and 
bales  of  rope. 

Sefior  Delagoa  suddenly  came  to  the  side 
and  shouted,  "  Brava!  a  boat !  " 

A  boat  it  was  in  truth  ;  a  boat  in  sec- 
tions, but  ready  to  be  put  together.  Part 
of  this  was  carefully  lowered  down,  and, 
the  raft  being  loaded,  they  boarded  the 
canoe  and  towed  it  slowly  to  the  beach  at 
the  mouth  of  the  canon.  For  a  week  they 
continued  this  work,  until  they  had  com- 
pletely wrecked  the  galleon.  Even  the 
treasure  had  been  saved,  and  great  bales 
of  silk,  rich  cloths  of  all  kinds,  and  a  thou- 
sand and  one  articles  which  constitute  ob- 
jects of  trade  and  barter.  By  the  greatest 
labor  the  five  men  and  boys  carried  and 
dragged  the  wreckage  to  the  camp.  The 
large  booms  and  timbers  they  hid  on  the 
beach,  covering  them  with  sand,  and  at 
the  end  of  two  weeks  they  were  not  only 
completely  housed,  but  provided  with  many 
luxuries. 

"  As  we  are  among  dangerous  tribes/' 
said  Senor  Delagoa  one  day,  "  I  suggest  that 


THE   WKECKERS.  195 

we  have  our  proper  arms  and  learn  the  use 
.of  them." 

This  suggestion  led  to  the  forming  of 
the  guard  of  five.  The  boys  already  knew 
the  use  of  the  sword  and  gun,  and  Torqua 
was  soon  initiated  by  the  captain  into  the 
secrets  of  Spanish  arms  of  the  time.  The 
boys  felt  some  compunctions  of  conscience 
at  the -precautionary  deception  which  they 
had  been  a  party  to,  especially  when  they 
thought  of  the  friendly  and  peaceful  rela- 
tives of  Torqua,  whose  reputation  had  been 
so  reviled,  but  they  little  knew  how  soon 
their  arms  and  ammunition  would  come 
into  play. 

The  rescued  Spaniards  took  a  strong  lik- 
ing to  Torqua,  were  evidently  pleased  with 
his  intelligence,  and  they  more  than  once 
expressed  the  opinion  that  he  must  have 
other  blood  in  his  veins  than  that  of  the 
pure  Santa  Catalina,  or  Pimug-na,  savage. 
His  quaint  pronunciation  of  Spanish,  which 
he  had  learned  at  the  mission  from  the 
Fathers,  and  the  intermingling  with  strange 
Indian  phrases  amused  them,  and  the  young 
girl  often  made  a  point  of  teaching  him. 


196   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

"  You  must  teach  me  your  language, 
Torqua,  and  I  will  teach  you  mine/'  she 
had  said. 

"What  you  call  our  cave?"  asked  Tor- 
qua  one  night  as  they  sat  on  the  rocks. 
"Not  casa." 

"No,  cueva,"  answered  Inez. 

"Ah,"  cried  Torqua,  "so  many  names 
for  one  thing  in  Espanol.  Same  with  my 
people.  What  you  call  the  ear,  espegar,  is 
nanah  ;  and  so  we  call  the  leaves  of  the 
tree  its  ears." 

"  What  is  God  ?  "  asked  the  girl. 

"  Qua-o-ar,"  replied  Torqua,  pronouncing 
the  word  reverently. 

"I  must  tell  you  about  our  God,"  said 
his  teacher,  "the  God  of  the  Spanish." 

"  Alala!  "  cried  Torqua.  "  I  have  heard 
too  much  from  the  Padres.  I  have  my 
own  god,  my  own  temple.  Don  Arturo 
and  Don  Raphael  will  tell  yon."  Torqua' s 
eyes  flashed  brightly.  "  The  religion  of 
the  Spanish  kills,  whips,  makes  slaves  of 
us,"  he  said.  "Don  Arturo  will  tell  you 
that  is  why  we  fled  from  the  mission,"  he 
added  excitedly. 


THE    WRECKERS.  197 

Raphael  endeavored  to  stop  Torqua  by 
nudging  him  with  his  elbow,  and  he  imme- 
diately realized  what  he  had  said,  and 
looked  confusedly  at  the  Spaniards,  who 
exchanged  glances  and  smiled  at  his  em- 
barrassment. 

"  But  the  Padres  are  good  men,"  insisted 
Inez. 

"  They  may  be  good  in  your  land/' 
replied  Torqua,  "  but  not  all  in  our  country. 
Listen,  Senorita.  My  aha  (brother)  was  a 
great  chief  at  Sibagna  (San  Gabriel).  The 
Chicbinabros  cut  his  head  off.  Why  ? 
Because  he  try  to  save  his  tahat  (people). 
The  Padres  throw  water  on  my  people, 
soyna  (baptize),  make  them  say  amar  a 
Dios,  and  if  they  refuse,  beat  them.  At 
Pasinogna  (Rancho  del  Chino)  they  tied 
men,  women,  children,  hand  and  feet," 
cried  Torqua,  imitating  the  movements, 
"lash  them  with  sticks,  drove  them  like 
coyotes  to  Toybipet  (Spadra),  and  kept 
their  children  from  them  until  they  took 
the  soyna  (baptism),  and,"  continued  Tor- 
qua, "  when  they  did,  they  could  not  go 
back  to  their  people.  They  forced  their 


198    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

gods  upon  my  people ;  they  drive  us  from 
the  island ;  they  make  slaves  of  my  people 
to  build  their  missions  or  temples.  But  I 
will  not  work  for  them ;  I  will  die  first." 
And  Torqua  sprang  to  his  feet  and  walked 
to  and  fro.  "You  saw,  Don  Arturo,"  he 
cried,  "  that  I  showed  you  our  god,  our 
temple,  but  I  did  not  try  to  force  you  to 
worship  it.  No,  no ;  you  like  your  God,  I 
like  mine." 

The  Spaniards  were  very  much  enter- 
tained at  Torqua's  enthusiasm,  and,  observ- 
ing that  he  was  much  excited,  did  not 
reply,  but  Arturo  took  Torqua  aside  and 
told  him  that,  without  doubt,  he  had 
offended  the  young  girl,  who  intended  no 
harm. 

"But,"  said  Torqua,  "I  cannot  think  of 
the  wrongs  of  my  people  without  blood  in 
my  head.  But  I  would  not  hurt  the  heart 
of  the  Senorita ; "  and,  turning,  he  ran  and 
knelt  at  her  feet,  and  lifting  from  his  neck 
a  valued  necklace  of  the  pearly  abalone,  he 
held  it  out  and  said,  "  Senorita,  you  know 
the  most  cabat  (beautiful)  thing  to  the 
people  of  Pimug-na  or  Kinkipar,  the  thing 


THE    WRECKERS.  199 

they  fight  for,  hunt  for,  from  moon  to 
moon,  always  the  thing  they  risk  many 
lives  to  catch  ? "  And  Torqua  paused, 
puzzled  for  language  to  express  his  ideas, 
and  uttering  them  in  a  medley  of  Indian 
and  Spanish. 

Inez  shook  her  head  in  bewilderment. 

"  It  is  the  white  otter.  You  are  to  Tor- 
qua the  white  otter." 

This  was  the  finest  sentiment  he  could 
express.  This  was  his  apology. 

The  day  following  this  occurrence,  Ar- 
turo  and  Raphael  being  left  by  Torqua  at 
the  cave,  the  former  said  to  the  Spaniards, 
"  You  gentlemen  noticed  that  Torqua,  in 
his  excitement,  spoke  of  our  leaving  the 
Mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano,  and  as  it 
is  impossible  to  conceal  the  fact  from  you 
longer,  it  is  better  that  we  have  an  under- 
standing." 

Thereupon  the  boys  related  all  they  knew 
of  themselves  and  their  escape.  The  Span- 
iards listened  to  the  remarkable  story  with 
undisguised  interest,  and  when  it  was  con- 
cluded Senor  Delagoa  said  : 

"  I  wish  to  assure  you  of  our  complete 


200    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

friendship.  I  can  see  that  you  have  been 
the  victims  of  some  perfidious  conspiracy, 
which  I  hope  some  time  to  aid  you  in 
avenging;  but  even  if  this  were  not  so,  we 
owe  you  a  debt  for  our  lives  and  that  of 
my  daughter,  which  can  never  be  repaid. 
Had  it  not  been  for  you  and  the  brave  Tor- 
qua  we  should  not  be  here,  and  I  thank  you 
again  and  renew  our  pledges  of  friendship. 
Now  that  we  thoroughly  understand  our- 
selves we  can  act.  I  assume  that  you  do 
not  wish  to  remain  here.  Certainly  we  do 
not,  so  I  propose  that  we  set  up  the  boat 
which  we  have  rescued  from  the  wreck, 
provision  her,  and  make  the  voyage  down 
the  coast  to  San  Bias.  You  shall  pass  as 
my  sons,  and,  once  there,  I  can  command 
transportation  to  Spain,  where  we  shall 
undertake  investigations  to  discover  why 
you  were  condemned  to  such  a  fate  with- 
out hearing.  What  say  you  ?  " 

It  is  needless  to  state  that  the  boys 
agreed  to  this  proposition,  and  when  Tor- 
qua  returned,  bearing  a  string  of  fish,  they 
told  him.  His  eyes  dropped,  and,  letting 
the  fish  fall,  he  turned  from  them;  then, 


THE    WRECKERS.  201 

wheeling  about,  cried  in  his  own  tongue, 
"  Nonim  nahama  !  I  hear,  I  hear.  I  save 
their  lives  and  they  take  my  friends." 

"But  you  shall  go,  too,  Torqua,"  cried 
Arturo,  placing  his  hand  on  his  shoulder. 
"  You  shall  visit  our  land  beyond  the  great 


sea." 


Torqua  turned,  and  his  eyes  fell  on  the 
green  mountains,  traced  the  dark  labyrinth 
of  canons  down  to  the  blue  sea  that  spread 
away  into  the  west,  and  shook  his  head. 

"Pimug-na  is  my  home,"  he  said.  "I 
could  not  leave  it." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE    ATTACK. 

NOW  that  the  Spaniards  understood  the 
situation,  and  Torqua  was  assured 
that  they  would  not  take  sides  with  their 
enemies  at  the  mission,  he  led  them  down 
to  the  Bay  of  Moons,  showed  them  the 
Vanquech  of  Chinigchinich,  and  took  them 
as  completely  into  his  confidence  as  he  had 
the  boys.  Every  day  they  were  more  and 
more  impressed  with  his  intelligence  and 
the  marked  difference  between  him  and  the 
other  natives,  who  were  a  race  of  fishing 
warriors.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to  start 
Torqua,  and  his  flights  of  oratory  in  broken 
Spanish  and  the  Indian  tongue  were  re- 
markable. As  Senor  Delagoa  said,  Torqua 
was  destined  to  become  a  great  chief  some 
day. 

"  My  father  is  a  great  chief,"  said  Tor- 
qua, as  the  party  were  returning  from  the 


THE  ATTACK.  203 

Bay  of  Moons,  walking  down  the  canon  of 
the  Rancho  Intermedio,  or  Middle  Ranch. 
"As  I  am  the  eldest  son  I  am  called 
Tomear,  and  when  he  dies  I  shall  be  chief. 
My  father  is  an  old  man ;  he  can  no  longer 
fight.  But  when  I  am  chief  — " 

"  What  then  ?  "  asked  Arturo. 

"  What  would  you  do,  Don  Arturo," 
replied  Torqua,  stopping  at  a  dwarf  oak  to 
pick  the  acorns,  "  in  your  country  if  a 
strange  people  came,  trying  to  make  you  a 
slave,  trying  to  make  you  work,  killing 
those  who  would  not,  poisoning  some,  set- 
ting others  mad  with  a  fiery  drink,  throw- 
ing down  your  gods  and  temples  ?  " 

"  I  would  drive  them  out,"  replied  Arturo. 

"  Good  !  "  exclaimed  Torqua.  "  That  is 
what  I  tell  my  people  to  do  to  your 
King.  He  sends  his  soldiers  here  ;  they 
kill  us,  they  ruin  our  homes,  they  make 
us  work  and  build  temples,  missions  to 
their  gods.  This  is  my  country,  the  land 
of  my  people,  Senor/'  added  Torqua,  ap- 
pealing to  Senor  Delagoa,  "and  it  always 
has  been.  We  were  happy  people,  con- 
tented, until  the  Spaniards  came.  What 


204          THE   ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

right  have  they  to  it?  They  say  they 
wish  to  save  us,  but  it  is  our  land  they 
want.  They  take  that  in  the  King's  name  ; 
but  when  I  am  chief,  no  more  of  my  people 
will  be  taken  from  Pimug-na  to  build  up 
adobe  temples  to  the  Spanish  gods:  no 
more  Pimug-nas  will  be  slaves.  They  may 
carry  us  over,  but  we  will  be  dead." 

"  Brava,  Torqua  !  "  cried  Captain  Hur- 
taldo,  "  I  am  one  of  the  King's  soldiers,  but 
there  is  no  one  to  hear  my  treason  ;  and 
were  I  you,  I  would  fight  for  my  home. 
The  King  has  the  divine  right  of  kings,  of 
conquest,  but  I  have  often  doubted  the  jus- 
tice of  it." 

"  And  I,"  interrupted  Inez,  "  believe  it 
is  an  outrage,  if  what  Torqua  says  is  true." 

u  It  is  true,  Senorita,"  said  Eaphael,  "  I 
know  it." 

"  Yes,"it  is  true,  Senorita,"  repeated  Tor- 
qua, turning  his  dark  and  expressive  eyes 
to  the  smoke  rising  from  Suanga1  and  the. 
distant  range  where  the  snow  cap  of  Mount 
Santiago  marked  the  land  of  the  mission. 

1  Suangd  was  a  populous  Indian  village  as  late  as  1780 
to  1800,  on  the  present  site  of  Wilmington,  near  San 
Pedro. 


THE  ATTACK.  205 

"  If  I  told  you  all  that  the  white  soldiers  do 
to  my  people  you  would  not  believe  it ;  you 
would  think  Torqua  a  zizu  (devil) ;  but  it 
is  true  —  true.  Qua-o-ar  (God)  will  avenge 
us.  Y-yo-ha-niv-gnma  (that  which  gives 
life)  will  destroy  our  enemies.  Our  peo- 
ple are  weak,  our  best  warriors  have  been 
forced  from  the  island  to  the  mission,  given 
poison  (rum)  which  makes  them  mad.  Be- 
fore they  carried  me  to  the  mission/'  con- 
tinued Torqua,  "  I  tried  to  make  my  people 
fight  the  Spaniards,  but  the  Shaman 1  (medi- 
cine man,  rain-maker)  told  me  to  wait.  He 
had  listened  and  the  ears  (leaves)  of  the 
trees  told  him  that  the  temple  of  the  Padres 

1  The  prophecy  of  the  Shaman  seems  to  have  been 
fulfilled.  In  1812  the  Mission  of  San  Juan  Capistrano 
was  ruined  by  an  earthquake,  thrown  to  the  ground, 
killing  many  people.  At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of 
Southern  California  by  Cabrillo,  1542,  there  was  a  large 
and  vigorous  population  on  the  mainland.  All  the 
islands,  San  Clemente,  San  Xicolas,  Santa  Catalina, 
Santa  Cruz,  Santa  Rosa,  San  Miguel,  Anacapa,  were  in- 
habited by  Indians,  but  the  incoming  of  the  Spaniards 
resulted  in  their  almost  complete  extinction.  In  the 
nineteenth  century  the  Spaniards  were  deposed,  and 
to-day  the  Southern  California  Indians  are  almost  a 
memory;  while  with  the  exception  of  a  few  the  fine  mis- 
sions mainly  built  and  supported  by  Indian  labor  are  in 
ruins. 


206   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

would  be  thrown  down  by  Chinigchinich  ; 
that  the  Spaniards  would  take  the  land,  our 
people  would  be  driven  into  the  sea,  blown 
away  as  the  leaves  of  the  forest,  but,"  and 
Torqua's  face  lightened,  "  the  time  of  the 
Spaniards  would  come.    They  would  lose  the 
land  they  stole  from  us,  be  destroyed  and 
fade  away  like  fog  clouds  before  the  sun." 
The  volatile  Torqua  was  easily  diverted. 
In  the  midst  of  his  oration  a  fox  crossed 
their  path,  and  he  dashed  after  it.     It  ran 
directly  down  the   trail,   shaking   its  fine 
brush,    Torqua    after   it,    running    like   a 
deer,  gaining  step  by  step,  foot  by  foot. 
The  boys  were  left  far  behind  by  this  hu- 
man antelope,  who  with  a  marvellous  dash 
of  speed  caught  up  writh  the  little  animal, 
stooped,  seized  it  by  the  tail,  and  tossed  it 
dexterously  into  the  air.     As  it  came  down 
he  caught  it,  and  running  back  said,  "  A 
favorite  (pet)  for  the  ' white  otter/"  hold- 
ing out  the  fox  to  Inez,  which,  strangely 
enough,  did  not  attempt  to  bite.     But  she 
could  not  be  induced  to  carry  it,  so  Torqua 
slung  it  upon  his  shoulder  and  strode  along, 
the  long  brush  of  the  fox  streaming  down 


THE    ATTACK.  207 

his  naked  back,  its  sharp  nose  by  his  face, 
occasionally  growling  very  fiercely. 

By  midday  they  had  reached  the  cave, 
where  Inez  was  left  while  the  rest  went 
down  to  the  canon  beach  to  look  at  the 
boat  and  make  plans  for  joining  it. 

"  You  must  know,  boys,"  said  Senor 
Delagoa,  as  they  walked  down  the  divide, 
"  that  there  was  a  vast  treasure  on  the  gal- 
leon. You  saved  it,  and,  as  the  wreckers, 
the  larger  portion  is  yours,  so  you  are  not 
going  back  to  Spain  without  means." 

This  Senor  Delagoa  illustrated  when  they 
reached  the  beach.  He  dug  up  one  of  the 
chests  they  had  brought  in  on  the  raft, 
pried  open  the  cover,  and  exposed  roll  after 
roll  of  doubloons,  an  immense  treasure. 

"  Here  we  might  use  them  for  sinkers  to 
our  fishing  lines,"  said  Raphael ;  "  that 's 
all  the  good  they  could  do  us." 

"  Or  for  bullets  to  our  guns,"  added  Cap- 
tain Hurtaldo. 

"  We  will  use  them  in  Spain  yet,"  said 
Senor  Delagoa,  covering  them  up,  tossing 
one  to  Torqua  with  the  suggestion  that  he 
bore  a  hole  in  it  and  use  it  as  a  bead,  Tor- 


208   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TOEQUA. 

qua's  neck  being  adorned  with  various  ob- 
jects, one  of  bis  few  savage  weaknesses. 

Tbey  found  the  parts  of  the  boat  in  good 
condition,  and  Captain  Hurtaldo,  who  was 
familiar  with  the  building  of  galleons  and 
packets,  superintended  the  work.  They 
found  the  keel  in  several  pieces  and  laid  it 
near  the  water,  then  with  the  aid  of  the 
tools  from  the  carpenter's  boxes  fitted 
the  ribs,  and  by  hard  and  constant  labor 
in  three  or  four  days  had  the  hull  of 
a  vessel  of  forty  feet  in  length  in  shape. 
The  laying  of  the  planks  was  the  most 
difficult  work  to  manage,  as  they  were  not 
practical  workmen.  Some  days  Inez  came 
to  the  beach  and  watched  them,  and  a 
tent  of  canvas  was  rigged  up  to  shelter 
her  from  the  strong  wind  which  came  in 
every  afternoon.  At  last  the  hull  was 
complete,  but  Arturo  announced  that  there 
was  no  oakum,  and  without  that  the  craft 
was  like  a  sieve.  The  boat  builders  were 
disconcerted. 

"  Why  not  plug  it  with  this  tar  that 
washes  ashore?"  asked  Inez. 

"You  have  a  better  head    than  any  of 


THE   ATTACK.  209 

us,"  said  her  father,  and  every  one  began 
hunting  for  tar  or  asphaltum,  which  per- 
haps came  up  from  submarine  springs  and 
washed  ashore. 

In  a  few  days  they  had  collected  a  large 
quantity  from  the  rocks ;  then  Captain 
Hurtaldo  suggested  that  they  unravel  some 
of  the  old  ropes  and  make  oakum,  but  Tor- 
qua,  after  watching  the  operation,  asked  : 

"  Why  not  take  the  oakum  out  of  the 
seams  of  the  wrecked  galleon  ? " 

The  simplicity  of  this  solution  of  the 
question  made  them  all  laugh,  and,  jump- 
ing into  the  canoe,  the  boys  paddled  to  the 
galleon,  which  still  hung  in  the  cleft  of  the 
rocks.  The  sun  had  warped  an<J  opened 
her  seams  so  that  they  yawned  widely,  and 
it  was  a  simple  matter  to  pull  out  the  long 
ropes  of  tarred  oakum,  which  was  carried 
back  and  the  work  of  calking  begun.  The 
vessel  was  rigged  for  two  masts,  which  they 
stepped  without  difficulty,  and  gradually 
added  the  rigging,  until  she  stood  on  the 
sands  complete,  ready  for  launching. 

"She  needs  but  one  thing,"  said  Senor 

Delagoa,  "  a  name." 

u 


210       THE   ADVENTURES    OF   TORQUA. 

"  Nombre  ?  "  cried  Torqua ;  "  what  you 
call  nutra  blanca  ? "  Then  he  struggled 
with  a  medley  of  Indian  words,  meaning 
that  he  would  name  her  the  "  White  Otter," 
after  Inez,  who  blushed  with  pleasure  as 
the  others  cheered  at  the  christening. 

"  If  we  had  some  white  paint  we  might 
make  her  look  like  a  white  otter,"  said 
Arturo. 

"  Plenty  of  it,"  replied  Captain  Hurtaldo. 
"  I  found  a  keg  of  white  lead  and  there  is 
a  barrel  of  oil,  and  even  brushes.  The 
galleon,  you  must  remember,  was  well 
equipped." 

In  two  days  more  the  "  White  Otter " 
was  painted,  and  a  trim  little  craft  she  was. 
Inez  had  made  her  a  pennant  of  bunting, 
and  one  of  the  ship's  small  bronze  car- 
ronades  was  mounted  forward,  which  gave 
her  a  trim  and  warlike  appearance. 

The  facts  regarding  the  wreck  had  long' 
ago  readied  the  dwellers  in  the  various 
rancherias  of  the  island,  and  the  galleon 
had  been  visited  by  nearly  all  the  natives, 
while  parties  daily  stopped  at  the  beach  to 
watch  the  building  of  a  ship ;  and  despite 


THE    ATTACK.  211 

the  information  provided  by  Torqua,  who 
was  basking  in  the  reflected  light  of  the 
white  men,  they  could  not  understand  how 
the  chichinabro  (reasonable  beings),  as  they 
called  the  Spaniards,  could  find  pieces  to 
fit  so  closely  or  how  they  built  the  vessel 
so  rapidly ;  nor  could  Torqua  make  them 
understand  that  she  had  been  made  across 
the  seas,  taken  apart,  and  was  now  being 
put  together.  They  merely  looked  on  with 
amazement,  crying,  "  Cabatcho  !  "  "  Cabat- 
cho ! "  meaning  that  it  was  of  fine  appearance. 
Finally  the  "  White  Otter  "  was  com- 
pletely rigged,  even  to  two  small  boats, 
which,  though  much  damaged  in  the 
wreck,  had  been  repaired.  It  was  found 
impossible  to  launch  her  without  help,  so 
Torqua  summoned  thirty  or  forty  men 
from  the  neighboring  rancheria  of  Toybi- 
pet,  and  at  ebb  tide  they  began  to  dig  a 
trench  about  her.  Then  a  line  was  run 
out  astern  and  anchored,  and  as  the  tide 
rose,  natives  on  the  deck  hauled,  with  much 
shouting  and  screaming,  and  suddenly  the 
vessel  moved  and  floated  quietly  out  and 
was  anchored  off  shore. 


212        THE    ADVENTURES    OF   TORQUA.          » 

As  the  time  came  for  leaving  the  island 
the  boys  did  not  cease  trying  to  induce 
Torqua  to  go  with  them,  and  one  day  he 
consented  to  go  down  the  coast,  taking  two 
or  three  of  his  people  who  were  good  canoe- 
men.  They  were  to  be  given  the  "  White 
Otter/'  and  to  return  on  her.  Torqua  soon 
selected  his  men,  tall,  robust  fellows,  and 
Senor  Delagoa  taught  them  the  use  of  arms, 
gave  them  clothes  to  wear  in  the  cold 
weather  at  sea,  and  offered  to  pay  them  in 
advance  from  the  supply  of  gold.  But  they 
preferred  other  things  ;  a  mirror,  a  tin  dish, 
an  iron  spade,  and  other  objects  were  se- 
lected by  them  and  the  gold  refused. 

"  We  have  gold  and  silver  in  the  canons ; 
all  we  have  to  do  is  to  dig  it  out,"  said  one 
native  to  Torqua,  who  translated  it.  "  But 
it  is  too  soft ;  iron  is  hard." 

The  vessel  was  taken  out  every  day  until 
they  became  thoroughly  familiar  with  her, 
and  she  proved  both  fast  and  seaworthy. 
Then  the  loading  for  the  trip  began.  The 
treasure  was  stowed  in  the  hold,  one  large 
water  hogshead  was  taken  from  the  galleon, 
filled  and  loaded,  and  the  ship's  stores  of 


THE  ATTACK.  213 

meal,  hard  bread,  rice,  coffee,  sugar,  and 
other  articles  drawn  upon.  The  store  of 
dried  goat's  meat,  of  which  the  boys  had 
accumulated  a  large  amount,  was  packed 
away,  and  every  object  and  article  taken 
from  the  galleon's  supply  that  they  could 
use.  Arms  were  not  neglected,  and  three 
carronades  were  added,  besides  barrels  of 
powder,  balls  and  shot  and  sheets  of  lead. 
Nothing  seemed  lacking,  and  one  morning 
Captain  Hurtaldo  announced  that  they  were 
prepared  for  a  three  months'  trip. 

It  was  decided  to  sail  the  following  day, 
and  Torqna,  Senor  Delagoa  and  his  friend, 
and  the  boys  went  up  to  the  cave  to  bring 
down  some  of  their  possessions,  and  es- 
pecially some  extra  sails  which  had  been 
used  as  tents.  Inez  was  left  in  the  beach 
camp.  The  men  were  weary  and  walked 
slowly,  following  the  canon,  stopping  now 
and  then  to  kill  a  partridge  or  to  collect 
acorns  or  wild  cherries.  Keaching  the  cave 
at  midday  when  the  heat  was  intense,  they 
decided  to  wait  until  the  cool  breeze  of  the 
afternoon  before  returning.  So  folding  up 
the  canvas,  they  lay  down  and  took  their 


214    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

last  siesta  in  the  cave  that  had  so  often 
given  them  shelter.  How  long  they  slept 
they  knew  not,  but  suddenly  Torqua  awoke 
and  sat  up  in  a  listening  attitude,  then 
sprang  to  his  feet  and  ran  out. 

"What  is  it,  Torqua?"  said  Arturo 
drowsily. 

"  I  heard  a  cry/*  said  Torqua ;  then  he 
continued,  "  Do  you  not  hear  it  ?  " 

The  boys  ran  quickly  out,  and  in  a  few 
seconds  heard  a  distant  cry. 

"  It  is  the  messenger !  "  cried  Torqua, 
leaping  to  the  rocks  and  climbing  upward, 
followed  by  the  boys.  "  When  there  is 
trouble,  war  or  enemies,  my  father,  the 
chief,  sends  out  a  runner  who  goes  from 
one  rancheria  to  the  other,  warning  the 
people,  telling  them  to  assemble.  Here 
he  comes ! " 

At  that  moment  a  wild  and  almost  naked 
figure  came  up  out  of  the  canon,  uttering  a 
shrill  cry  that  struck  terror  to  their  hearts, 
a  foreboding  of  evil.  He  pointed  behind 
him,  spoke  excitedly  to  Torqua,  and  sprang 
on  down  the  slope,  carrying  the  message  to 
the  Bay  of  Moons. 


THE    ATTACK.  215 

"  The  Tshuma,"  explained  Torqua,  "  from 
the  island  far  to  the  north  have  attacked 
our  people  at  the  rancherias  above  us.  He 
says  there  are  thirty  canoes  filled  with 
warriors,  and  that  they  have  killed  many 
of  our  people." 

"And  Inez  alone  on  the  beach!"  cried 
Senor  Delagoa. 

The  men  seized  their  weapons  and 
climbed  the  divide,  reaching  the  trail,  the 
easiest  to  the  sea,  and,  led  by  Torqua,  ran 
rapidly  down.  When  they  reached  the 
fork  of  the  canon  they  could  make  out 
the  distant  rancheria  at  the  two  harbors, 
and  saw  a  crowd  of  women  and  children 
climbing  an  adjacent  canon,  evidently  flee- 
ing from  the  common  enemy.  They  ran 
against  the  strong  west  wind,  Torqua 
bounding  along  the  narrow  and  steep  trail, 
leaping  and  sliding  down  upon  the  beach. 
Torqua  was  in  the  lead.  He  rushed  to  the 
tent,  threw  it  open.  There  was  evidence  of 
a  struggle  ;  everything  was  overturned,  the 
tent  cut,  the  young  girl  was  gone. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   AVENGERS. 

THE  members  of  the  little  party  for  a 
moment  said  nothing.  They  were 
paralyzed  with  the  horror  of  the  situation, 
and  Senor  Delagoa  raised  his  hands  to  his 
face  and  turned  away,  as  though  to  shut 
out  the  terrible  evidence  of  his  loss.  Tor- 
qua  was  the  first  to  recover  action. 

"  They  have  her.  Zizu  has  led  them 
here.  I  knew  we  should  have  killed  him  : 
a  snake  is  better  dead ;  but  we  will  take 
her,  we  will  get  her  back  again." 

He  sprang  over  the  dunes  to  the  beach ; 
the  sands  were  marked  by  scores  of  bare 
feet,  and  at  the  water's  edge  were  the  tell- 
tale marks  of  several  canoes  which  had 
been  hauled  up. 

"  The  '  White  Otter '  is  gone !  "  exclaimed 
Arturo. 


THE   AVENGERS.  217 

It  was  too  true.  There  were  no  signs  of 
the  trim  vessel,  and  their  hearts  sank  within 
them  as  they  realized  that  pursuit  was  thus 
delayed. 

"  They  could  not  sail  her ;  they  never 
saw  such  a  ship,"  said  Torqua.  "  They  must 
have  set  her  adrift." 

Saying  this,  he  ran  down  the  beach  and 
leaped  over  the  rocks  so  that  he  could  see 
beyond  the  point  to  the  leeward.  He  then 
shouted,  waved  his  hands,  and  disappeared. 
The  others  followed,  and,  climbing  the  rocks, 
saw  the  "  White  Otter  "  half  a  mile  down  the 
coast,  evidently  fast  in  the  kelp  bed,  and 
Torqua  bounding  in  her  direction.  The 
boys  ran  after  him  to  a  point  opposite  the 
vessel.  They  were  not  a  moment  too  soon, 
as  the  strong  west  wind  was  beginning  to 
creep  over  the  glassy  water,  and  in  a  short 
time  the  "  White  Otter  "  would  have  been 
dashed  upon  the  rocks.  Torqua  was  al- 
ready aboard,  and  Arturo  and  Raphael  flung 
themselves  into  the  water  with  lusty  over- 
hand strokes,  pushed  themselves  through  the 
kelp,  reaching  the  vessel  just  as  the  wind 
was  beginning  to  force  her  in. 


218   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

"  Quick,  Don  Arturo  !  "  cried  Torqua. 
"  She  is  all  right ;  take  the  rope." 

Over  went  one  of  the  small  boats.  Tor- 
qua seized  the  oars,  while  Arturo  made  fast 
a  rope  to  the  end  of  the  bowsprit,  then 
Torqua  gave  way.  The  wind  was  already 
so  strong,  coming  up  like  magic,  that  the 
water  was  covered  with  white  caps,  but 
Torqua  pulled  until  the  veins  stood  out 
upon  his  face,  while  the  boys  unfurled  the 
sail  and  stood  by,  ready  to  hoist  as  soon  as 
Torqua  had  hauled  the  bow  off  shore.  It 
was  a  strenuous  effort,  but  the  Indian  boy 
won,  as  he  generally  did,  the  bow  gradu- 
ally turning  seaward. 

"  Once  more/'  shouted  Raphael,  "  brava, 
Torqua,  brava  !  Now  up !  Ahoy,  up  with 
her ! "  and  with  brave  shouts  the  foresail 
went  clanking  up,  and  bellied  out  before 
the  now  welcome  wind.  Arturo  sprang  to 
the  tiller,  hauled  it  hard  over,  and  the  little 
craft  gathered  way  and  surged  ahead  off 
shore,  Torqua  leaping  aboard  as  she  went, 
making  the  boat  fast.  Now  the  mainsail, 
then  the  jib  went  spinning  up  under  will- 
ing, eager  hands  at  the  halyards,  and  the 


THE   AVENGERS.  219 

"  White  Otter  "  went  speeding  on  like  a  race 
horse,  leaving  danger  far  astern. 

"  Not  a  thing  touched,"  said  Arturo, 
coming  out  of  the  cabin. 

"  No,"  said  Torqua,  "  they  only  cut  the 
rope.  They  were  afraid  of  her ;  thought  it 
was  some  evil  monster." 

The  boys  made  a  reach  half  a  mile  out, 
came  about  on  the  port  tack,  and  ran  into 
the  canon,  coming  up  in  the  wind,  lying  to 
while  Torqua  rowed  in.  The  sea  was  so 
heavy  that  he  could  not  land,  so  Senor 
Delagoa  and  the  Captain  threw  themselves 
into  the  surf  and  swam  out,  where  Torqua 
picked  them  up  and  carried  them  aboard. 

"  What  say  you,  Torqua,"  said  Senor 
Delagoa,  with  an  agonized  look  on  his  face, 
"  will  they  kill  my  daughter  ?  What  shall 
we  do  ?  What  action  shall  we  take  ?  " 

"No,  they  will  not  dare  to  kill  her," 
replied  Torqua.  "  It  is  more  likely  that 
Zizu  has  made  them  steal  her  for  a  ransom 
from  the  Spaniards.  We  will  take  her,  but 
we  must  go  to  my  people  first." 

"  Slack  off  the  sheets,  Arturo,"  cried 
Captain  Hurtaldo,  who  took  charge,  "so 


220   THE  ADVENTUKES  OF  TORQUA. 

we  will  go  like  a  bird;  "  and  wing  and  wing, 
they  ran  to  the  south  before  the  gale. 

"  My  plan,"  said  Torqua,  "  is  to  go  to 
the  Bay  of  Moons,  where  we  will  find  all  the 
fighting  men  ready  to  avenge  the  attack, 
join  them,  all  go  together  and  make  war 
against  the  Tshuma.  It  is  of  no  use  to  go 
alone.  They  would  kill  us.  We  beat  them 
once,"  he  added. 

"  Then  you  have  been  there  ? "  asked 
Captain  Hurtaldo. 

"  No,"  replied  Torqua,  "  but  I  see  the  land 
in  my  eye.  You  see,  Captain,  in  my  people 
every  year  so  many  children  are  taken  to 
be  what  you  call  libro  (books).  To  these 
children  the  old  men  repeat  the  history  of 
their  tribe  until  they  never  forget  it  and 
say  it  over  and  over.  I  was  told  by  my 
father  about  the  land  of  the  Tshuma,  and 
I  can  make  you  a  pintura  (picture)  of  the 
island  in  the  sand."  Then  finding  a  piece 
of  canvas  and  a  brush  with  which  they  had 
painted  the  vessel,  Torqua  made  a  crude  but 
effective  map  of  the  country  of  their  enemies, 
the  kidnappers.  "  There  are  six  islands," 
he  said,  "  twenty  leagues  to  the  north,  but 


THE   AVENGERS.  221 

there  is  a  small  rock  five  leagues  away ; 
another,  twenty  leagues  to  the  west,  which 
the  Spaniards  call  San  Nicolas.  The  people 
are  not  friendly  to  my  race.  Then  twenty 
leagues  to  the  north  a  long,  slender  island 
of  rocks,  which  the  people  call  Enneeapah 
(Anacapa) ;  then  there  is  a  large  island 
called  Limun  three  leagues  off,  and  it  is 
here  that  the  Tshuina  live.  It  is  the  island 
the  first  white  man,  Cabrillo,  a  great  cap- 
tain who  came  here  years  ago,  called  Santa 
Cruz.  There  are  many  towns  here,  — Poele, 
Pisqueno,  Patiquilid,  Pualnacatup,  Pati- 
quiu,  Ninumu,  Muoc,  Pilidquay,  Lilibeque, 
and  Miquesesquelua.  The  next  island  is 
Nicalque,  or  Santa  Rosa,  and  there  are  three 
towns,  —  Nichochi,  Coycoy,  and  Estocoloco. 
The  next  island,  far  to  the  north,  where  the 
great  Captain  Cabrillo  died,  is  Liquimuymu, 
or  San  Miguel.  Here  are  two  towns,  — 
Zaco  and  Nimollollo.  I  can  tell  the  number 
of  warriors  and  women,"  said  Torqna 
proudly.  "  They  are  poor,  lazy,  but  some- 
times they  fight.  It  is  to  Limun  that  we 
must  go ;  there  they  will  take  the  Senorita 
to  the  big  town  Muoc,  there,"  said  Torqua, 


222        THE   ADVENTURES    OF    TORQTJA. 

marking  the  spot  on  an  open  bay  with  his 
brush.  "  But  if  it  blows  we  may  overtake 
them  on  the  way." 

There  was  nothing  then  to  do,  and  the 
party  sat  in  silence  as  the  boat  rushed  on 
like  a  living  thing.  She  passed  a  great 
rock  with  a  human  face,  turned  up  the 
island,  and  there  was  caught  in  a  calm  ;  but 
the  boys  got  into  the  boat  and  towed  her 
along  by  the  rookery  of'  the  sea  lions. 
When  passing  out  of  the  lee  they  again 
encountered  the  breeze,  and  after  a  long 
reach  to  the  east  came  about  and  sailed 
into  the  quiet  Bay  of  Moons  ( Avalon),  with 
its  sugarloaf-like  rock,  its  crescent  beach, 
and  the  huts  of  the  Indians  scattered  over 
the  sands  and  amid  the  cactus  that  reached 
back,  up  the  wide  water-washed  canon. 

All  was  excitement  at  the  town,  and,  as 
the  party  landed,  the  warriors  were  coming 
down  the  trail  from  the  different  rancherias 
in  the  canon  mouths  along  shore  where  the 
messengers  had  stopped,  and  large  canoes 
were  rounding  the  point,  filled  with  men. 
The  war  canoes,  some  painted  white,  some 
red,  black,  and  yellow,  a  gay  flotilla,  each 


THE    AVENGERS.  223 

with  a  capacity  of  twenty  men,  were  on  the 
beach,  the  double-ended  paddles  in  them, 
and  the  women  were  packing  provisions, 
ollas  of  water,  tunas,  chia,  acorns,  and  wild 
cherry  ground  up  into  paste,  roast  grass- 
hoppers, slabs  of  dried  meat,  abalones, 
squirrels,  and  birds.  The  warriors  stood 
about  examining  their  arms,  stone  clubs, 
arrows  with  flint  barbs,  poisoned  with  de- 
coctions made  by  the  Shaman.  Some  were 
painted  in  lurid  colors,  and  all  presented  a 
martial  and  barbaric  appearance.  Torqua 
soon  learned  the  details.  The  enemy  had 
come  at  night,  and,  stealing  in  upon  the 
town  at  the  north  end  of  the  island,  had 
killed  some  of  the  men  and  stolen  the 
women.  They  had  come  down  as  far  as 
their  canon,  and  there  finding  the  white 
man's  vessel,  had  stopped,  taking  Inez,  then 
starting  north.  Torqua  informed  his  people 
that  Senor  Delagoa  offered  them  a  great 
reward  if  they  rescued  his  daughter,  and 
in  turn  learned  that  every  warrior  in  the 
island  was  to  join  the  expedition. 

The  best  news  to  the  white  men  came 
not  from  Torqua,  but  from  his  father,  the 


224   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

old  chief.  He  addressed  his  people,  told 
them  that  he  was  too  old  to  lead  them,  and 
that  he  handed  his  club  and  his  head-dress 
over  to  Torqua,  his  eldest  son,  who  was 
second  to  none  as  a  hunter,  although  he  had 
never  been  to  war.  While  Torqua  was  a 
young  man,  he  was  a  physical  giant,  tower- 
ing above  nearly  all  his  .people ;  and  as  the 
old  chief  made  the  announcement  there 
was  a  loud  shout,  showing  that  Torqua  was 
already  a  favorite.  Torqua  did  not  speak, 
but  when  the  noise  had  stopped  he  waved 
aloft  the  eagle  head-dress  his  father  had 
handed  him,  and,  turning  to  the  wild  men 
crowding  about  him,  cried,  with  sparkling 
eyes : 

"  Non  oyb  narik  hani  ma-agotum  tcho-o-onum, 
miknosho-o?n  mongot  ? "  meaning,  literally, 
"  I  know  you  well,  my  warriors.  We  will 
go  to  fight  our  enemies  together.  Are  you 
ready  ?  " 

In  reply  they  raised  their  spears  and  bows 
and  shook  them  in  the  air  with  wild  cries, 
and  rushed  for  their  canoes,  followed  by  the 
women  and  children,  who  waded  waist-deep 
into  the  bay,  many  swimming  after  the  fleet 


THE    AVENGERS.  225 

as  it  moved  off.  The  "  White  Otter  "  was 
presently  under  way,  but  as  the  wind  was 
light,  the  brilliantly  painted  canoes  passed 
them,  an  inspiring  sight,  replete  with 
savage  splendor.  There  were  thirty  war 
canoes,  of  graceful  shapes,  holding  at  least 
twenty  men  each,  who  plied  double-bladed 
paddles,  which  struck  the  water  with  pre- 
cision, first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other, 
the  warriors  uttering  a  low  chant  in  perfect 
unison  ;  —  an  army  of  six  hundred  warriors 
collected  in  three  hours,  and  Torqua  said 
they  would  pick  up  more  canoes  up  the 
island.  So  it  proved. 

Every  canon  mouth  had  its  Indian  town, 
village,  or  home,  and  out  from  the  little 
open  bays  came  one  or  more  canoes  as  the 
flotilla  passed.  The  canoes  kept  in  shore, 
but  the  "  White  Otter  "  was  obliged  to  keep 
off  to  find  the  wind,  but  so  rapidly  did  she 
sail  that  they  reached  the  isthmus  town 
ahead  of  the  canoes,  joining  them  as  they 
passed  the  cave  into  which  Torqua  and  the 
boys  had  dashed  months  before  to  escape 
their  enemies.  The  wind  was  fresh,  and 
they  ran  into  the  isthmus  at  the  head  of 


15 


226        THE    ADVENTURES    OF   TORQUA. 

the  fleet  and,  as  Torqua  had  said,  found 
several  more  canoes,  in  all  forming  a  fleet 
of  forty.  The  attack  of  the  Tshuma  had 
been  made  at  the  next  bay  beyond  at  Pa-al 
Peya-alinge,1  and  as  the  canoes  ran  in  upon 
the  beach  the  warriors  poured  out  over  it, 
mingling  with  their  friends.  The  bodies 
of  the  slain  were  lying  on  the  sand,  and  the 
funeral  rites  were  to  be  held  by  the  army 
before  they  left.  When  everything  was 
ready  the  natives,  and  especially  the  rela- 
tives of  the  dead  warriors,  began  to  utter 
shrill  cries,  lamentations,  and  groans,  the 
sound  being  a  babel  confounded.  Grad- 
ually it  merged  into  a  low  dirge,  more  be- 
fitting such  an  occasion.  The  musicians 
began  to  play,  each  being  provided  with 
whistles  of  bone,  into  which  they  blew  as 
loudly  and  shrilly  as  possible,  keeping  time 
by  stamping  upon  the  sand.  In  the  crowd 
Raphael  noticed  his  old  friend  Tomat  the 
flute  player,  blowing  vigorously  upon  his 
deer  bone  whistle  inlaid  with  pearl.  The 
old  man  saw  him  and,  stepping  forward, 

1  Johnson's    Landing    now.     There   is   but    a  large 
kitchen-midden  to  represent  this  town  to-day. 


THE   AVENGERS.  227 

handed  him  his  whistle  or  flute,  whereupon 
Raphael  joined  the  band  of  musicians.  The 
rites  were,  according  to  Torqua,  usually  kept 
up  for  several  days,  but  as  the  warriors 
were  going  away,  the  ceremonies  were 
shortened.  The  knees  of  the  dead  were 
tied  to  the  neck,  the  head  bowed,  and  the 
hands  lashed  to  the  knees.  The  bodies 
were  then  covered  with  skins  or  matting 
of  seaweed  and  placed  in  holes  in  the  sand. 
In  the  graves  the  members  of  the  family 
threw  chia  seeds,  and  about  the  body  they 
placed  his  mortar,  pestle,  beads,  arrows, 
spears,  flutes,  and'  other  possessions,  which 
were  buried  with  him  to  be  used  in  the 
land  beyond  the  grave,  thus  ending  the 
ceremony. 

Captain  Hurtaldo  had  fortunately  loaded 
the  "White  Otter"  with  arms  which  they 
had  taken  from  the  armory  of  the  galleon. 
These  consisted  of  broadswords  and  spears 
and  flintlock  muskets.  The  latter  were  of 
no  use  to  the  natives,  but  the  swords  and 
spears  delighted  them,  and  Torqua  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  fifty  of  his  warriors 
armed  with  these  formidable  weapons, 


228   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

which  they  bore  with  much  pride.  An 
hour  later  the  order  was  given  to  leave, 
and  the  fleet  set  sail,  led  by  the  "  White 
Otter,"  which  flew  along  before  the  breeze. 

Torqua  set  the  course  to  the  north, 
and  they  made  such  headway  that  they 
had  to  repeatedly  wait  for  the  canoes,  the 
latter  showing  themselves  fine  sea  vessels, 
bounding  along  with  remarkable  speed. 
At  sundown  they  approached  a  rocky  and 
deserted  island,  which  Torqua  told  Raphael 
was  never  used  by  the  Indians,  as  there 
was  no  water  upon  it  and  it  had  no  name 
(Santa  Barbara  Rock).  Here  the  fleet 
rested,  making  fast  to  the  kelp  in  the  lee, 
until  early  the  next  morning,  when  they 
again  set  sail,  the  canoes  streaming  out 
into  the  open  sea  for  the  long  paddle  of 
fifteen  leagues. 

The  Indians  husbanded  their  strength,  yet 
forced  the  canoes  along  at  such  speed  that 
the  fleet  in  a  short  time  was  out  of  sight 
of  land.  Captain  Hurtaldo  crowded  all  sail 
upon  the  "  White  Otter  "  and  left  the  canoe 
fleet  behind,  hoping  to  overtake  the  enemy ; 
but  as  nothing  was  seen,  they  lay  to  and 


THE   AVENGERS.  229 

waited  for  the  fleet  to  come  up.  A  heavy 
sea  was  now  running  and  some  of  the  long 
canoes  were  shipping  water,  the  men  bail- 
ing with  abalone  shells  to  keep  them  clear. 
All  day  they  paddled,  at  night  keeping 
closely  together.  On  the  second  day  Ar- 
turo,  who  was  at  the  helm,  heard  a  shout 
from  the  canoes,  and,  looking  ahead,  saw 
the  peaks  of  a  jagged  mountain  rising  from 
the  sea.  Torqua  came  on  deck  at  the 
sound  and  pronounced  it  Enneeapah  (Ana- 
capa),1  the  first  of  the  islands.  By  midday 
they  were  close  under  the  lee  and  the  fleet 
presently  passed  through  a  stupendous  arch 
some  distance  from  the  shore,  alarming 
vast  numbers  of  pelicans  which  were  roost- 
ing on  the  island  and  which  flew  upward, 
forming  a  cloud  above  it.  The  fleet  made 
for  a  sandy  beach  at  the  upper  or  north  end 
of  Anacapa,  where  the  canoes  were  beached. 
Torqua  took  his  white  friends  upon  a  high 
rock  and  pointed  out  the  island  of  Limun 
(Santa  Cruz),  which  could  now  be  seen  ris- 
ing from  a  dense  cloud  of  fog.  It  appeared 
to  be  a  league  away,  across  a  channel, 

1  Ever-changing. 


230 


THE    ADVENTURES    OF   TORQUA. 


and  abounded  in  mountains  which  were 
much  more  closely  covered  with  trees  than 
Pimug-na,  or  Santa  Catalina.  As  far  as 
could  be  seen  there  were  no  canoes  in  sight, 
and  Torqua  was  of  the  opinion  that  the 


Natural  Fortress. 

enemy  had  reached  its  home  port ;  so  he 
decided  to  give  his  warriors  a  rest  until 
the  following  day  and  then  steal  upon  the 
towns  along  shore. 

He  went  down  among  his  men  and  gave 
his  instructions  to  the  under  chiefs  and 
captains,  one  of  which  was  in  charge  of 
each  white  canoe.  The  "  White  Otter  "  was 


THE   AVENGERS.  231 

anchored  off  shore  and  long  into  the  night 
the  party  discussed  the  morrow.  The  white 
sandy  beach  was  covered  with  warriors, 
who  looked  like  sea  lions,  several  rook- 
eries of  which  they  had  passed. 

"  Zizu  is  a  coward  like  the  ano  (coyote)," 
said  Torqua,  throwing  a  piece  of  the  sail 
over  his  legs  to  keep  off  the  drenching  fog 
which  was  drifting  in,  "  but  he  has  the 
cunning  of  the  fox.  He  will  never  fight 
until  he  is  in  a  corner,  but  he  can  direct 
the  rest  from  some  safe  place." 

"  He  is  a  good  general,  then,"  said  the 
Captain,  "  but  a  poor  fighter." 

Seiior  Delagoa  was  so  utterly  cast  down 
that  he  did  not  speak.  His  thoughts  were 
continually  on  his  daughter,  every  moment's 
delay  seemed  interminable,  and  all  through 
the  long  night  he  sat  thinking,  wondering, 
fearing,  listening  to  the  water  that  rippled 
around  the  hull.  Torqua  was  so  excited 
that  he  slept  but  little,  and  early  morning 
found  him  on  the  wet  deck,  looking  at  his 
men  lying  quietly  on  the  sands.  As  the 
fog  broke  to  the  east  and  the  first  rays  of 
the  sun  caught  the  water,  he  thought  he 


232   THE  ADVENTUKES  OF  TORQUA. 

saw  something  moving  far  to  the  east. 
As  whales  were  very  common  in  the  chan- 
nel he  was  not  startled,  but  presently  he 
made  out  a  canoe,  then  another,  stealing 
out  of  the  fog,  then  he  gave  a  shrill,  reso- 
nant cry  that  brought  every  warrior  to  his 
feet. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

THE    BATTLE    UNDERGROUND. 

AS  the  Pimug-nas  dashed  sleep  from 
their  eyes  they  saw  Torqua  pointing 
seaward,  and  at  the  sight  of  the  fleet  of 
canoes  a  wild  cry  broke  from  the  savage 
warriors.  The  canoes  were  quickly  run 
down  to  the  water,  and,  leaping  to  their 
places,  the  Indians  shoved  off. 

The  crew  of  the  "  White  Otter"  had  not 
been  idle ;  the  sails  were  run  up,  the  anchor 
hoisted  with  the  greatest  rapidity,  and  as  a 
stiff  breeze  was  blowing,  she  gathered  her- 
self together  like  a  bird  and  scudded  away, 
Torqua  shouting  to  the  chiefs  of  the  canoes 
to  follow  him.  There  was  a  rocky  point 
to  the  island  at  this  anchorage,  and  as 
the  fleet  moved  out  it  was  evident  that 
the  enemy  had  not  observed  them.  The 
Tshuma  had  evidently  gone  over  to  the 


234    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

mainland  shore,  following  that  course,  ac- 
cording to  Torqua,  to  find  smooth  water, 
and  they  were  now  making  a  dash  across 
the  channel  in  the  quiet  of  the  early  morn- 
ing from  the  land  of  the  Saqpili  and  were 
headed  for  Limun. 

"  How  many  canoes  do  you  see  ?  "  called 
out  Captain  Hurtaldo,  who  was  busy  at  the 
carronades,  loading  them  heavily. 

Torqua  began  to  count  in  the  Indian 
tongue,  a  difficult  matter,  as  they  were 
bunched.  "  Paca,  exco,  rnaseja,  scumu, 
itipaca,  itixco,  itimasge,  malahua,  upax, 
kerxco,  kerxco-tomol,"  he  cried,  "  ten 
canoes ;  others  are  ahead  or  behind." 

They  were  at  least  half  a  league  off:  and 
that  distance  nearer  Limun,  but  the  enemy 
had  been  paddling  all  night  evidently, 
while  Torqua's  men  were  fresh.  Torqua 
headed  for  Limun  to  cut  them  off  before 
they  reached  it,  and  his  warriors,  discover- 
ing his  purpose,  sent  the  canoes  dashing 
along  at  marvellous  speed,  the  paddles  mov- 
ing like  the  flails  of  a  windmill,  glistening 
like  silver  in  the  sun.  When  the  enemy 
saw  them,  instead  of  stopping  to  give  fight, 


THE    BATTLE    UNDERGROUND.  235 

as  the  Captain  had  hoped,  they  redoubled 
their  efforts  and  bore  off  a  little,  heading 
for  the  centre  of  the  island,  two  leagues 
distant. 

It  was  now  a  question  whether  the  fresh 
warriors  could  paddle  fast  enough  to  over- 
take them  before  they  could  land.  The 
"  White  Otter "  gained  on  them  rapidly 
and  was  not  more  than  a  mile  behind  when 
they  reached  the  lee  of  Limun,  when  she 
lost  the  strong  wind.  The  canoes  soon 
caught  up  and  it  became  a  stern  chase, 
though  the  Pimug-rias  had  the  inside  and 
were  slowly  but  surely  gaining.  The  shore 
of  the  island  was  precipitous  to  a  remark- 
able degree,  near  the  south  point  for  several 
miles  being  an  abrupt  precipice.  The  fleet 
hauled  closer  and  closer  in  until  it  was 
within  five  hundred  feet  of  the  rocky 
shore.  Then  a  savage  shout  went  up,  as 
it  was  more  than  evident  that  they  were 
going  to  cut  the  Tshuma  off. 

The  cliffs  were  undermined  by  caves,  into 
which  the  water  rushed,  forcing  out  the  air 
with  a  loud  roar.  These  caves  were  so 
numerous  that  it  seemed  as  though  the 


236   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

entire  base  of  the  island  was  honeycombed, 
and  the  repeated  roaring  from  them  startled 
the  followers  of  Torqua.  The  enemy  was 
evidently  trying  to  reach  a  village  on  a 
little  beach  something  like  that  of  the  Bay 
of  Moons,  though  without  protecting  capes 
of  rock.  On  the  beach  were  several  canoes, 
and  in  a  sandy  place  by  the  side  of  a  little 
laguna  a  village  was  seen.  The  "  White 
Otter"  had  picked  up  a  breeze  off  shore  and 
was  almost  within  gunshot.  The  crisp  re- 
port of  the  Captain's  gun  now  sounded, 
then  the  carronade  was  fired  to  bring  them 
to,  but  they  did  not  stop  paddling,  nor  was 
the  pace  diminished;  but  they  were  being 
cut  off. 

Prevented  from  landing  at  the  town, 
they  were  now  making  for  a  rocky  cape 
which  projected  into  the  sea,  and  Torqua, 
with  wild  shouts,  urged  his  men  on.  They 
passed  several  small  villages  on  the  high 
slopes,  from  which  came  volleys  of  arrows, 
doing  no  damage.  The  pace  had  been  so 
vigorous  that  both  fleets  were  failing  in 
speed.  Torqua's  party  were  gaining,  but 
despite  all  their  efforts  the  enemy  reached 


THE    BATTLE    UNDERGROUND.          237 

Capa  Diablo,  as  it  was  called,  first.  Here 
they  were  met  by  a  violent  wind  and  sea, 
but  they  surged  on,  the  "White  Otter"  now 
well  upon  them,  but  fearing  to  fire  until 
it  could  be  seen  which  boat  contained  the 
prisoner. 

"  If  I  only  knew  which  boat  she  was 
in,"  groaned  the  Captain,  who  had  the  car- 
ronade  loaded  with  scattering  shot,  "  I 
could  blow  them  out  of  the  water." 

"  Zizu  too  sharp  for  that,"  said  Torqua, 
who  was  clinging  to  the  shrouds ;  "  he 
keep  the  Senorita  out  of  sight.  He  know 
we  will  not  shoot.  Zizu  the  Temi  (cap- 
tain) sure." 

The  wind  had  increased  to  half  a  gale 
as  they  approached  the  point,  but  suddenly 
they  came  upon  a  protected  bay,  in  which 
could  be  seen  a  huge  cave,  which  Torqua 
said  was  Cueva  Valdez,  with  huts  on  the 
beach  and  some  high  on  the  sides  of  the 
cliff.  The  enemy  had  been  cut  out  of  this 
also,  although  it  was  the  second  large 
town,  and  Torqua,  pointing  to  his  map, 
said  there  was  still  another,  a  small, 
perfectly  protected  bay,  and  the  enemy 


238         THE   ADVENTURES    OF   TOKQUA. 

undoubtedly  was  making  for  this.  They 
were  now  paddling  with  desperation  and 
turning  in,  but  Torqua's  fleet  skirted  the 
kelp-lined  rocks,  and  were  nearing  them  so 
rapidly  that,  seeing  that  they  were  beaten 
away,  the  Tshuma  again  bore  off,  and  made 
directly  for  the  cape.  The  little  bay  was 
passed,  a  glimpse  of  its  oval-topped  huts 
seen,  then  the  fleet  dashed  into  high  seas, 
which  came  sweeping  around  the  cape. 
The  enemy  could  not  hold  out  much  longer; 
they  were  not  three  hundred  yards  distant, 
when  Zizu's  fleet  turned  toward  the  rocky 
coast  at  a  sharp  angle,  at  the  same  time 
sending  a  cloud  of  arrows  at  the  Pimug-nas, 
with  yells  of  defiance.  They  reached  the 
still  water  near  the  shore,  and  Torqua, 
scenting  some  trick,  leaped  into  a  canoe 
from  the  "  White  Otter,"  which  had  rounded 
to,  and  urged  the  men  on.  A  huge  arch 
now  appeared,  a  high,  black  doorway, 
which  apparently  led  into  the  base  of  the 
mountain.  Into  this  Zizu's  forces  were 
crowding  in  great  confusion.  The  crew  of 
the  "  White  Otter"  had  seen  that  she  could 
not  go  on,  so  the  sails  were  lowered,  the  an- 


'""-'•  '"i  •   'V       ' 

gfm 


THE    BATTLE    UNDERGROUND.          239 

chor  tossed  over,  and,  taking  their  arms,  the 
Spaniards  sprang  into  the  canoes  that  sur- 
rounded them,  and  with  shouts  urged  the 
warriors  on.  Half  of  Zizu's  fleet  had 
mysteriously  disappeared,  but  the  rest  were 
crowded  together,  and  into  them  Torqua's 
fleet  dashed,  receiving  a  shower  of  arrows. 
Torqua,  who  was  in  the  lead,  immediately 
saw  that  the  prisoner  was  not  in  the 
canoes,  and,  shouting  this  to  his  Spanish 
friends,  they  fired  their  flintlocks,  while  the 
Pimug-nas  sprang  into  the  canoes  of  their 
enemies  and  cut.  them  down  with  the  Span- 
ish swords,  running  down  the  canoes  and 
throwing  the  crews  into  the  water.  The 
canoes  were  now  massed  together  in  what 
appeared  to  be  a  great  room,1  whose  walls 
were  beautifully  colored,  and  Arturo,  Ea- 
phael,  and  the  rest  sprang  over  them  as 
they  would  over  a  bridge.  Arturo  received 
an  arrow  in  the  arm,  but  pluckily  wrenched 
it  out,  and  turned  in  time  to  strike  down  a 
savage,  who,  while  clinging  to  the  side  of 
the  canoe,  was  about  to  plunge  a  spear  into 

1  Now  known  as  the  famous  "  Painted  Cave,"  of  Santa 
Cruz  Island. 


240   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

Senor  Delagoa.  The  scene  and  carnage  was 
terrible.  The  Pimug-nas  gave  no  quarter, 
expecting  none.  The  stone  walls  gave  back 
the  shrieks  and  groans  of  the  dying  and 
wounded.  Pressing  on,  they  followed  into 
a  second  room,  which  was  seen  to  be  the 
entrance  to  a  third  huge  water  cavern. 
At  least  half  of  the  enemy's  canoes  had 
shot  through  an  opening  not  much  larger 
than  a  boat.  The  end  was  near.  The  en- 
raged Pimug-nas  overran  the  canoes,  and  in 
a  very  short  time  had  slain  many  of  the 
enemy  or  beaten  them  into  subjection. 

Torqua  now  called  to  his  men  to  return, 
and  the  warriors  backed  their  canoes  out 
into  the  sunlight.  The  dead  and  the  dying 
were  hauled  from  the  water,  and  Torqua 
and  the  whites  gathered  for  a  council  of 
war.  Torqua  held  a  prisoner  by  the  arm 
and  questioned  him,  threatening  to  kill 
him  if  he  did  not  answer.  The  man  said 
that  Zizu  was  not  with  them.  He  had  been 
put  ashore  at  the  mainland,  but  the  chief 
had  taken  the  prisoner  to  the  island  of 
San  Nicolas. 

"  Are  you  lying  ?  "  asked  Torqua ;    then,, 


THE    BATTLE    UNDERGROUND.          241 

turning  to  one  of  his  Temi  (captains)  he 
said,  "  Take  this  man  and  tie  him.  If  we 
find  that  he  has  told  the  truth,  treat  him 
well,  release  him.  If  he  has  lied,  kill  him." 
The  prisoner  appeared  to  be  satisfied 
with  this,  hence  some  concluded  that  he 
was  telling  the  truth  ;  but  Torqua  and  his 
friends  were  in  a  quandary.  Torqua  would 
not  believe  the  native,  and  was  in  favor  of 
entering  the  cave,  but  he  knew  nothing 
about  it,  and  it  was  evident  that  it  could 
not  be  accomplished  without  great  loss  of 
life,  as  the  opening  was  barely  large  enough 
for  a  canoe  to  squeeze  through.  At  this 
juncture  one  of  his  men,  named  Tilac,  came 
over  the  canoes  and  informed  him  that  he 
had  been  in  the  cave,  having  years  ago 
been  on  a  trading  trip  to  Limun.  Accord- 
ing to  him,  there  were  three  rooms,  the 
last  the  largest,  over  thirty  varas  in  width 
and  of  unknown  height,  while  around  the 
edge  at  low  tide  was  a  ridge.  From  this 
cave  led  smaller  ones,  only  large  enough 
for  sea  lions,  passing  far  under  the  island. 
Five  canoes  had  been  destroyed  and  seventy 
warriors  taken  captive  or  killed,  and  there 

16 


242   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

were,  it  was  estimated,  fifty  more  within. 
They  could  be  starved  out ;  but  supposing 
the  prisoner  was  with  them?  Torqua  seized 
several  prisoners,  and  threatened  them  with 
death,  but  they  all  told  the  same  story. 

"  If  we  had  armor,  shields,"  said  Arturo, 
"  we  could  push  canoe  after  canoe  in." 

"  I  am  for  making  the  rush,"  said  Captain 
Hurtaldo.  "  I  will  lead  it." 

"  I  am  with  you,"  said  Raphael. 

"  It  is  certain  death,"  said  Senor  Delagoa. 
"  Look !  " 

A  wrecked  canoe  had  drifted  into  range 
on  the  swell  and  a  volley  of  arrows  struck 
it  from  the  narrow  orifice. 

"I  have  a  plan,"  exclaimed  Torqua. 
"  We  have  oil  ?  " 

"  Plenty,"  replied  Raphael,  "  four  or  five 
kegs." 

Torqua  called  his  men  off,  leaving  a 
guard  in  the  outer  room,  out  of  range,  and 
soon  had  them  on  shore  on  the  rocks,  giving 
the  whites  an  opportunity  to  attend  to  their 
wounds.  While  Arturo's  arm  was  bandaged 
Torqua  sent  some  men  up  the  cliff  for  brush, 
and  as  they  threw  it  down  from  the  top  of 


THE    BATTLE    UNDERGROUND.          243 

the  precipice  he  packed  it  in  the  bow  of  a 
canoe  and  saturated  it  with  oil.  It  was 
dark  before  this  was  accomplished.  Then 
Torqua  unfolded  his  plan.  He  selected 
fifty  men  armed  with  the  Spanish  swords. 

"  You  are  to  follow  me.  When  it  is 
dark  outside,  it  is  so  dark  within  the  inner 
room  that  nothing  can  be  seen.  We  will 
dive  deep  and  swim  through  the  entrance 
under  water,  one  after  another,  corning  up 
near  the  edge  which  Tilac  told  us  about, 
holding  on  there ;  then  when  all  are  in,  the 
oil  brush  will  be  lighted  and  the  canoe 
pushed  through  the  gate  by  men  swimming 
beneath  her  in  the  water.  When  the  fire 
blazes  on  the  inside  of  the  cave  it  will  be 
the  signal  for  us  to  attack,  and  when  those 
on  the  outside  hear  our  war  cry  let  them 
push  in  and  we  will  take  every  Tshuma. 
Ah,  if  it  were  only  Zizu !  " 

"  Brava ! "  cried  the  Spaniards,  and  the 
Captain  said,  "  You  are  a  great  general, 
Torqua.  I  should  never  have  thought  out 
such  a  scheme." 

Torqua  having  completed  his  arrange- 
ments, a  dead  silence  fell  upon  the  little 


244   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

army,  and  the  prisoners  who  were 'lying  on 
the  rocks,  bound  hand  and  foot,  wondered 
what  move  was  to  be  made.  Finally  Tor- 
qua,  his  sharp  sword  in  hand,  crept  down 
to  the  cave,  entered  the  water  carefully 
and  swam  in,  followed  by  Raphael,  who 
had  insisted  on  accompanying  him.  Tor- 
qua's  orders  were  to  give  him  time  to 
reach  the  interior;  then,  if  no  shouts  were 
heard,  the  next  man  was  to  dive,  and  so  on. 
A  group  of  twenty  gathered  in  the  big 
outside  cave  and  Torqua  swam  cautiously 
around  the  edge,  keeping  out  of  range. 
When  he  reached  the  door  or  entrance  he 
dropped  under  water  and,  diving-  to  the 
bottom,  followed  it  along  for  fifteen  feet, 
coming  to  the  surface  far  on  the  inside. 
It  was  as  black  as  night  when  he  put  out 
his  hand  to  feel  for  the  ridge.  It  touched 
a  soft,  hairy  body,  then  a  loud  roar  rose 
that  absolutely  deafened  him,  a  roar  which 
reverberated  from  side  to  side  as  though  a 
hundred  guns  had  been  fired  ;  at  the  same 
moment  a  huge  body  fell  into  the  water. 
Torqua  immediately  sank  below  the  surface, 
his  quick  intuition  telling  him  that  it  was 


THE    BATTLE    UNDERGROUND.          245 

a  sea  lion.  In  a  few  seconds  he  rose  again 
with  his  nostrils  at  the  surface  like  an 
otter,  and  listened.  He  could  hear  the 
low,  guttural  murmur  of  conversation  at 
the  opposite  end  of  the  cave  and  could  dis- 
tinctly hear  the  lapping  of  water  against 
a  sentinel  canoe  near  him,  but  the  darkness 
was  so  intense  that  nothing  could  be  seen. 
Presently  he  felt  his  arm  grasped ;  it  was 
Raphael,  who  now  clung  to  the  side ;  then 
followed  in  turn  brave  Mokvuit,  Posh6-o, 
Voltu-an6,  Polo-ov,  Ohu-ute,  and  many  more, 
who  came  swimming,  diving  silently,  per- 
haps to  their  death.  They  were  aided  by 
the  swell  which  came  surging  in,  creating 
weird  sounds,  sucking,  puffing,  hissing,  as 
the  water  fell  away  from  caves  or  filled 
others,  forcing  out  the  air ;  and  occasionally 
from  some  far  distant  subterranean  nook 
came  the  hoarse  roaring  bark  of  the  sea 
lion ;  sounds  which  added  to  the  terrors 
of  the  place  and  situation.  Torqua,  sword 
between  his  teeth,  sank  in  the  water,  his 
nostrils  just  above  it,  and  felt  his  way 
around,  as  one  after  another  of  his  picked 
braves  came  in,  to  a  submerged  ledge,  upon 


246   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

which  he  crawled,  so  reaching  the  back  of 
the  cave.  Raphael  was  by  his  side,  and 
to  these  two  the  moments  seemed  hours. 
Not  a  false  note  was  played  in  this  clever 
tragedy,  this  savage  game  of  war  that  never 
had  its  equal  in  pluck  or  courage,  being  car- 
ried on,  perfected,  and  executed  in  an  ocean 
cave  in  the  heart  of  the  mountain.  They 
knew  that  men  were  coming  in  constantly, 
like  seals,  but  they  did  not  know  that  the 
entire  force  had  entered  until  a  sudden 
glare  of  light  shot  through  the  narrow 
opening  and  blazed  up  like  an  explosion. 
It  was  the  signal,  but  every  black  head 
floating  with  nostrils  just  at  the  surface, 
every  strong  arm  clinging  to  the  shining 
wall,  waited  for  the  war  cry  of  Torqua 
before  falling  upon  the  enemy.  At  the 
appearance  of  the  light  there  was  an  in- 
stant commotion  and  the  submerged  and 
silent  swordsmen  could  hear  the  canoes  of 
the  enemy  moving  to  the  entrance.  On 
came  the  light,  the  oil  blazing  up,  illumin- 
ing the  entrance,  and  as  the  bow  of  the 
canoe  appeared  the  Tshuma  leader  cried 
out  and  a  volley  of  arrows  struck  it.  But 


THE    BATTLE    UNDERGROUND. 


247 


Torqua's  men  were  beneath  it  and  the 
canoe  moved  mysteriously  on,  and  then, 
with  a  violent  push,  the  swimmers  shoved 
the  fire  Tomol,  or  canoe,  far  into  the  cave. 
The  effect  was  marvellous.  The  light  illu- 


The  Signal  of  Fire. 

mined  the  room  and  displayed  five  canoes 
loaded  with  men.  With  a  shout  Torqua 
sprang  into  the  one  nearest  him,  and  before 
the  astonished  Tshumas  knew  what  had 
happened  he  was  among  them,  followed  by 
Raphael,  and  striking  them  down.  On  the 
instant  the  water  appeared  to  be  alive  with 
black,  gleaming  monsters  who  climbed  into 


248       THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

the  canoes,  armed  with  long,  fierce  knives. 
The  attention  of  the  Tshumas  was  distracted 
from  the  entrance  by  the  attack  and  through 
it  dashed  a  canoe,  then  another.  The  Tshu- 
mas fought  valiantly,  though  surprised ;  they 
rallied  and  tried  to  beat  the  men  down, 
who,  out  of  the  darkness,  crawled  and  leaped 
into  their  canoes.  Some  they  pierced  with 
spears,  others  were  slain  with  paddles  and 
clubs,  but  where  one  Pimug-na  was  knocked 
back  into  the  water  ten  seemed  to  spring 
up.  Torqua  was  felled  by  a  blow  from  a 
stone  club  but  rallied,  and  with  Raphael 
and  others  drove  every  man  into  the  water 
from  the  canoe  they  had  seized.  The  scene 
at  this  time  beggared  description.  The  flam- 
ing oil  tinted  the  surroundings  red,  and  the 
bodies  of  the  savages  gleamed  like  those  of 
demons,  while  the  groans  of  the  dying  and 
drowning,  fierce  shouts  to  rally,  and  war 
cries  filled  the  stony  chambers  with  echoes, 
which  bounded  back  and  forth,  —  appalling 
sounds.  Torqua  and  Raphael,  fighting  side 
by  side,  sprang  from  canoe  to  canoe,  which 
now  filled  the  weird  room,  seemingly  im- 
mune to  danger,  seeking  Donna  Inez.  See- 


THE    BATTLE    UNDERGROUND.  249 

ing  in  the  midst  of  a  motley  throng  a  chief 
wearing  a  head-dress  of  feathers,  Torqua 
turned  in  his  direction,  and  the  struggling 
warriors  fell  apart  as  these  two  gladiators 
came  together.  The  Limun  chief  was  armed 
with  a  huge  sword  of  whale  rib,  while  Tor- 
qua held  the  small  steel  blade  of  the  Span- 
iards. The  two  eyed  one  another  for  a 
single  second,  then  came  the  clash  of 
weapons.  The  ponderous  bone  sword  came 
whirling  through  the  air,  Torqua  dodging 
it  cleverly;  then  rushing  in,  he,  dropping 
his  sword  in  disdain,  hurled  the  chief  down 
into  the  boat.  The  Pimug-na  warriors  had 
beaten  down  those  of  Limun  on  every  side, 
and  as  the  chief  fell  the  few  remaining 
flung  themselves  into  the  inky  water  in  a 
final  endeavor  to  escape,  and  the  victors, 
striking  at  them  with  their  spears,  uttered 
wild  shouts  of  victory.  Senor  Delagoa, 
bleeding  from  a  spear  wound  that  had  laid 
open  his  cheek,  was  hauled  out  of  the  water 
by  Raphael,  where  he  had  been  knocked. 
Crazed  by  a  desire  for  revenge,  he  had  been 
a  notable  factor  in  the  fight,  and  now  he 
had  cut  his  way  over  the  canoes  to  Torqua, 


250   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

and  with  sword  raised  over  the  prostrate 
but  still  struggling  chief,  demanded  his 
daughter. 

"  Let  him  speak,  Torqua,"  he  shouted. 
"What  has  he  to  say?" 

Torqua  jerked  the  chief  to  his  feet,  twist- 
ing a  knife  from  his  grasp,  repeating  the 
Spaniard's  demand. 

"  He  says  she  is  at  San  Nicolas,"  replied 
Torqua,  after  a  moment.  "This  must  be 
true  ;  this  is  the  fourth  one  to  say  it.  We 
must  search  for  her  there." 

He  then  gave  the  order  to  leave  the 
cave,1  and  out  of  the  dark  cavern,  whose 
waters  were  now  dyed  with  blood,  the 
canoes  one  by  one  were  pushed  by  the 
victorious  warriors. 

1  The  author  entered  this  room  or  cave  in  1897.  When 
a  sea  came  in  the  entrance  was  closed,  and  the  sounds  as 
the  surges  crossed  the  great  room  were  appalling  to  the 
strongest  nerves. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE    RESCUE. 

TO  Arturo,  who,  wounded,  had  directed 
the  advance  from  without,  the  scene 
following  the  battle  in  the  ocean  cave  was 
a  strange  one.  Men  and  canoes  poured 
out  of  the  narrow  entrance  of  the  cavern 
like  bees  from  a  hive ;  some  swam,  others 
were  dragged  from  the  water ;  some  came 
screaming  in  agony,  others  shouting  their 
victory,  brandishing  the  weapons  of  their 
enemies.  Whether  his  comrades  had  sur- 
vived was  not  known,  and  Arturo  ques- 
tioned many  who  came  out  by  signs  as  to 
the  fate  of  Torqua  and  his  brother,  but  the 
warriors  were  dazed  or  crazed  by  the  excite- 
ment, by  the  lust  of  battle. 

Suddenly  a  battered  white  canoe  shot 
from  the  narrow  opening  and  a  loud  shout 
went  up  as  Torqua  appeared,  bleeding  from 
a  score  of  wounds,  but  erect  and  defiant. 


252    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

With  him  were  Raphael,  Seiior  Delagoa, 
and  the  Captain,  all  showing  evidences  of 
the  fierce  conflict.  Torqua  ordered  the 
captains  to  call  their  men  together,  and  by 
the  time  the  sun  rose  the  warriors  had 
loaded  the  canoes  with  the  wounded  and 
prisoners,  and  the  fleet  bore  away  for  the 
next  large  town,  Cueva  Valdez.  which  stood 
in  the  mouth  of  a,  canon  where,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  beach,  was  a  huge  cave. 
The  town  was  a  collection  of  round-topped 
huts  made  of  brush,  supported  by  whale 
ribs,  and  as  the  warriors  ran  their  canoes 
in  with  wild  and  victorious  cries,  women 
and  children  came  out  and  ran  up  the 
canon,  the  Pimug-nas  taking  possession  and 
looting  the  town.  Many  of  the  men  were 
badly  wounded,  the  canoes  crushed,  and 
Torqua  decided  to  remain  a  day. 

The  Cueva  Valdez,1  was  of  large  dimen- 
sions and  in  it  most  of  his  men  found 
shelter  for  the  night.  Early  the  following 
day  they  sailed  down  the  coast,  raiding  the 
towns  along  shore,  landing  in  strange  crev- 
ices and  caves  which  mark  this  island  as 

1  This  cave  is  one  of  the  wonders  of  Santa  Cruz  Island. 


THE   RESCUE.  253 

one  of  the  most  wonderful  of  the  group. 
The  canoes  of  the  vanquished  were  not  as 
well  made  as  their  own,  but  they  were 
taken ;  many  were  nearly  thirty  feet  in 
length,  made  of  pine  planks  (tablazon),  with 
beam  of  over  four  feet.  The  planks  were 
fastened  with  deer  sinews,  the  seams  plas- 
tered with  asphaltum,  some  were  gaily 
painted  with  mineral  colors,  and  the  cap- 
ture made  a  notable  addition  to  the  Pi- 
mug-na  fleet.  Into  the  canoes  the  warriors 
loaded  the  otter,  pelican,  and  deer  skins, 
mortars,  pestles,  weapons,  and  everything 
portable  they  could  take  from  the  deserted 
towns,  and  finally  at  night  they  skirted  the 
lower  end  of  the  island  and  ran  into  a 
little  rocky  bay,  beaching  the  canoes  on 
the  shore,  where  after  a  feast  of  roasted 
abalones  and  chia  seed,  captured  from  the 
Tshuma,  they  established  their  sentries  to 
prevent  surprise,  and  stretched  themselves 
upon  the  rocks  to  sleep. 

While  the  warriors  were  resting,  the  boys 
took  a  guard  of  ten  and  followed  up  the 
canon  which  led  to  the  interior.  An  Indian 
town  was  built  on  the  sands  not  far  away, 


254    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

evidently  very  old,  as  was  seen  from  a 
mound  of  shells  near  by.  By  its  side  ran 
a  little  stream  from  the  canon,  forming  a 
laguna,  and  where  the  water  had  cut  it 
away  human  skeletons  which  had  been 
buried  here  long  ago  were  seen.  One  had 
a  flat  stone  over  it  on  which  were  many 
straight  marks.  The  canon  led  gradually 
upward  and  was  filled  with  fine  oaks  and 
other  trees,  and  after  two  miles  opened  up 
into  a  little  valley  which  seemed  to  be  sur- 
rounded by  mountains.  Here  were  many 
huts  which  had  evidently  been  deserted  at 
their  approach,  the  Indians  taking  to  the 
hills  and  mountains.  Several  goats  with 
peculiar  horns  were  seen  and  shot  by  the 
boys  to  add  to  their  larder.  The  valley, 
the  deep-wooded  canon,  the  abundant  sup- 
ply of  water,  showed  that  the  natives  of 
Limun  had  an  ideal  home,  difficult  to  reach, 
surrounded  by  rough  water,  but  a  veritable 
paradise  for  savages. 

The  following  morning,  despite  the  fact 
that  many  of  the  men  were  stiff  from  their 
wounds,  Torqua  gave  orders  for  the  start, 
and,  led  by  the  "  White  Otter,"  the  fleet  bore 


THE    RESCUE.  255 

away  before  the  wind.  All  day  long  they  ran, 
bearing  out  to  sea,  as  San  Nicolas  was  the 
most  westward  of  all  the  islands  and  ten 
leagues  west  of  Pimug-na.  The  wind  blew 
heavily  in  the  afternoon,  a  long,  high  sea 
rolling  in,  making  it  a  dangerous  trip  for 
the  gaily  painted  canoes ;  but  the  crews 
were  natural  seamen,  skilled  in  the  work, 
and  beyond  a  few  seas  shipped,  nothing 
happened  to  dampen  their  ardor.  Night 
came  on  and  the  moon  rose  full  and  bright. 
Captain  Hurtaldo  had  shortened  sail,  not  to 
run  away  from  the  fleet,  when,  without 
warning,  she  seemed  to  slide  up  upon 
something  and  heel  over,  almost  capsizing. 
Arturo  and  Senor  Delagoa,  who  were  sleep- 
ing below,  rushed  on  deck  to  find  her  list- 
ing heavily  and  literally  surrounded  by  a 
school  of  whales.  The  canoes  also  stopped, 
fearing  to  proceed.  The  huge  animals  rose 
beneath  them,  rubbed  their  backs  upon  the 
keels,  spouting  vapor  over  the  fleet  in  a 
most  offensive  manner,  to  the  demoraliza- 
tion of  the  men.  One  cetacean  almost 
threw  the  "  White  Otter"  over  by  scraping 
along  beneath  her,  and  the  crew  expected 


256   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

every  moment  to  feel  the  heavy  tail  of  the 
monster ;  but  the  whales  seemed  merely 
actuated  by  a  desire  to  play  with  the  boats. 
So  friendly  was  one  that  the  Captain  de- 
cided that  something  must  be  done,  so  he 
fired  one  of  the  carronades,  the  sound  effec- 
tively driving  away  the  unwelcome  visitors. 

Early  in  the  morning  those  on  the  sailing 
vessel  sighted  a  low  island  with  several 
peaks,  capped  by  a  black  wind  cloud. 
That  it  was  the  home  of  the  wind  gods 
soon  became  evident,  the  wind  rising  and 
blowing  out  of  a  clear  sky.  The  Captain 
ran  up  to  the  fleet  and  Torqua  gave  his 
orders  for  ten  canoes  to  land  at  the  corral 
harbor  at  the  north,  while  he  with  others 
would  sail  to  the  south  spit.  x\fter  landing 
they  were  to  march  up  and  down  and  meet, 
examining  every  portion  of  the  island. 

"  Not  more  than  three  hundred  men  on 
San  Nicolas,"  said  Torqua.  "  Too  cold ; 
too  much  wind ;  too  much  stones  blow  in 
the  air.  My  people  say  when  very  bad 
man  die  he  goes  to  San  Nicolas,  live  in  the 
sand." 

The  wind   blew   furiously,    and  on    the 


THE   EESCUE.  257 

outer  point  a  terrific  sea  was  pounding 
upon  the  rocks,  while  the  entire  island 
seemed  to  be  exposed  to  the  surf.  There 
was  but  one  landing  at  the  north  end,  called 
the  corral,  a  small  enclosure  in  the  rocks. 
Before  this  was  reached  the  natives  were 
seen  on  the  sand  about  huts  of  brush. 

The  appearance  of  the  fleet  caused  no 
little  excitement,  and  women  and  children 
were  seen  running  up  over  the  sand  dunes, 
seeking  shelter  in  the  interior.  The  fleet 
followed  the  kelp  line  and  stopped  at  the 
stone  corral,  which  was  in  the  lee  and 
which  showed  a  narrow  entrance,  through 
which  the  canoes  passed,  the  paddlers  leap- 
ing into  the  water  as  they  struck  the  beach, 
lifting  the  boats  high  upon  the  sands.  Tor- 
qua  waited  until  ten  canoes  had  landed, 
then  observing  that  they  were  not  molested, 
that  the  enemy  had  fled,  he  bore  away  to 
the  south,  followed  by  the  remainder  of  the 
fleet,  keeping  in  the  lee  as  much  as  possible. 
After  running  four  miles  they  came  to  a 
long,  sandy  spit  upon  which  were  numerous 
huts,  and  rounding  this  saw  a  small  cove 
or  beach  upon  which  a  number  of  canoes 

17 


258    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

were  hauled.  There  was  a  heavy  cross  sea 
running  here,  and,  having  anchored  the 
"  White  Otter,"  Torqua  and  his  companions 
boarded  canoes  and  paddled  for  the  beach. 
So  eager  were  the  men  to  land  that  one  canoe 
was  overturned  and  rolled  over  and  over  in 
the  surf,  but  the  rest  waited  their  opportunity 
and  landed  in  safety,  the  men  always  leap- 
ing overboard  and  carrying  the  canoes  above 
high-water  mark. 

Torqua  at  once  formed  his  men  in  a  long 
line,  stretching  out  to  cover  the  width  of 
the  entire  island.  When  they  reached  the 
mesa,  which  was  perhaps  one  hundred  feet 
above  the  ocean,  they  found  themselves  on 
the  level  floor  of  a  desert  several  miles  in 
extent,  covered  with  limestone  and  sand 
which  had  evidently  been  blown  hither  and 
yon  by  the  wind.  Torqua  gave  the  command 
to  march  and  his  men  moved  on,  eagerly 
looking  for  signs  of  the  enemy.  Arturo  ran 
out  upon  the  beach  and  examined  the 
whalebone  huts,  but  found  them  vacant. 
Everywhere  along  the  shore  where  the  war- 
riors marched  there  were  evidences  of  an- 
cient human  occupation;  vast  mounds  of 


THE    RESCUE.  259 

shell l  covered  with  piles  of  very  large  aba- 
lone  shells ;  human  skeletons,  grinning 
skulls,  bones  from  graves  evidently  uncov- 
ered by  the  winds  that  swept  the  sand 
dunes,  tossing  them  about  in  ever-shifting 
forms.  As  they  moved  up  the  centre  of 
the  island  it  grew  broader,  the  east  coast 
being  worn  into  the  most  fantastic  canons, 
winding  down  to  the  lower  beach,  cut  and 
worn  by  the  wind  into  marvellous  shapes, 
so  remarkable  that  the  Spaniards  could 
scarcely  believe  that  human  hands  had  not 
been  the  agents  at  work.  All  the  canons 
and  gateways  from  the  mesa  down  to  the 
sea  were  carefully  examined  as  the  warriors 
marched  on,  but  not  a  human  being  was  found, 
though  everywhere  some  evidence  of  their 
presence,  in  stone  mortars,  clubs,  pestles,  and 
a  variety  of  objects  of  Indian  manufacture, 
was  visible.  It  was  a  singular  spectacle,  the 
warriors,  twenty  or  thirty  feet  apart,  extend- 
ing as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  in  a  sinu- 
ous bending  line.  Nothing  could  escape 
their  scrutiny,  and  from  the  opposite  direc- 

1  These  were  to  be  seen  at  the  time  of  the  author's 
visit,  1897. 


260   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

tion  marched  the  rest  of  the  army.  They 
soon  passed  the  mesa,  coming  to  a  more 
broken  region  and  finally  to  the  shore  line, 
on  which  was  a  vast  mound  or  shell  heap, 
surmounted  by  numbers  of  beehive  huts, 
and  about  them  they  could  see  a  crowd  of 
natives.  Torqua's  men  raised  a  war  cry  at 
the  sight  and  rushed  on,  still  preserving 
their  line,  but  closing  in.  A  deep  canon  in- 
tervened, and  down  into  it,  over  steep  sandy 
sides,  they  plunged,  finding  it  filled  with 
strange  stone  trunks,  seemingly  of  trees.  Ar- 
turoand  Captain  Hurtaldo  were  sliding  down 
the  canon  side  on  a  miniature  avalanche, 
when  they  saw  an  Indian  on  the  opposite 
side  clinging  to  the  rocks,  then  heard  a  cry, 
and  out  of  a  cave  in  the  yellow  sandstone 
not  three  hundred  feet  away  came  a  famil- 
iar figure,  screaming,  crying,  sliding  down 
the  slope.  It  was  Inez,  and,  breathless, 
weeping  from  joy  and  excitement,  she  liter- 
ally rolled  down  the  steep,  sliding  into  the 
arms  of  her  friends.  Senor  Delagoa  was 
on  the  left  of  the  line,  making  a  charge  on 
the  village,  and  the  first  question  asked  by 
Inez  was,  "Where  is  my  father?"  Then 


THE    RESCUE.  261 

she  turned  and  pointed  to  the  cave,  utter- 
ing the  word,  "  Zizu." 

Arturo  caught  the  name  amid  the  tur- 
moil and  cries  and  dashed  up  the  side  of 
the  canon.  The  wind  had  evidently  eaten 
it  out  into  small  caves,  and  behind  a  huge 
shelving  yellow  rock,  upon  which  in  red 
paint  was  emblazoned  the  strange  pictorial 
welcome  of  the  savages,  he  found  the 
entrance  to  a  cave,  and  far  in  the  corner, 
huddled  in  a  heap,  lay  trembling  Zizu,  whom 
he  dragged  out,  kicked,  and  rolled  down  the 
slope  like  some  offensive  animal,  where  he 
was  seized  and  tied,  with  great  difficulty 
being  saved  from  the  stone  clubs  of  the 
infuriated  natives  by  Arturo. 

Torqua  had  well  timed  the  advance  of  his 
forces,  as,  when  the  party  under  him  charged 
the  village,  loud  shouts  were  heard  and  up 
from  another  canon  to  the  north  came 
the  other  party.  The  San  Nicolas  savages 
were  surrounded.  They  made  a  brave  stand, 
sending  their  arrows  into  Torqua's  men 
with  some  effect ;  then  they  turned  and 
were  literally  overrun,  driven  up  the  sandy 
canons  and  like  foxes  run  to  earth.  Senor 


262    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

Delagoa  soon  heard  the  good  news,  and 
Torqua's  eyes  blazed  as  he  saw  father  and 
daughter  embracing,  once  more  reunited ; 
blazed  in  another  way  as  he  saw  his  old 
enemy,  Zizu,  lying  on  the  sand,  bound  hand 
and  foot,  like  a  rabid  ano  or  coyote. 

While  the  warriors  were  looting  the  huts 
and  taking  possession  of  the  valuables  of 
the  San  Nicolas  Indians,  the  little  party  of 
whites  gathered  about  Inez  and  listened  to 
her  story.  She  said  that  while  they  were 
away  a  party  led  by  Zizu  rushed  in  upon 
her,  and  by  signs  asked  where  Torqua  and 
his  friends  were.  She  did  not  reply,  so 
Zizu  seized  her  and  forced  her  along  down 
the  beach,  placed  her  in  the  canoe,  and  threw 
a  mat  of  kelp  over  her.  Soon  after  the 
fleet  put  to  sea,  part  going  toward  the 
mainland  with  a  message  to  the  mission, 
while  Zizu  headed  for  San  Nicolas,  as  being 
the  most  out-of-the-way  location,  intending 
to  hold  her  for  a  ransom.  Zizu,  after  mak- 
ing arrangements  for  the  care  of  Inez  with 
the  people  of  San  Nicolas,  was  going  to  the 
mainland,  presumably  to  offer  to  rescue  the 
young  girl,  with  the  expectation  of  a  large 


THE    RESCUE.  263 

reward  from  the  Spaniards,  but  the  coming 
of  the  fleet  had  frustrated  his  plans,  and,  as 
a  last  resort,  he  attempted  to  hide  her  in 
the  cave.  But  the  cleverness  of  Torqua  in 
covering  the  entire  island  with  his  warriors 
had  prevented  this.  Again  Zizu  was  out- 
witted, and  that  he  expected  little  or  no 
mercy  was  evident  by  his  terror. 


CHAPTER    XXTI. 

WING   AND   WING. 

TORQUA'S  description  of  the  wind  gods 
of  San  Nicolas  was  not  exaggerated. 
As  night  came  on  they  raised  a  vigorous 
protest.  The  wind  rose  and  the  little  party 
on  the  great  shell  mound  sought  shelter, 
first  in  one  of  the  native  huts,  then,  driven 
out  by  the  vile  odors,  took  refuge  in  the 
hollow  of  a  sand  dune.  The  sea  piled  in 
upon  the  rocks  as  though  determined  to 
rend  them  asunder,  great  clouds  of  spray 
swept  through  the  air  far  inland,  and  the 
sand  by  the  dunes  writhed  like  the  skin  of 
some  huge  monster  and  before  the  blast 
rose  in  the  air  like  clouds,  shutting  out 
the  mountains,  which  seemed  to  melt  away 
before  it. 

The  men  had  piled  up  timber  from  the 
beach  and  sat  beside  the  roaring  fire  talk- 


COAST  LINE  OF  SAN  NICOLAS  ISLAND. 


WING   AND    WING.  265 

ing  and  exchanging  experiences  far  into  the 
night,  Seiior  Delagoa  holding  his  daughter's 
hand,  the  young  men  vying  with  each  other 
in  attentions  to  her,  while  Torqua  silently 
gazed  into  the  fire,  proud  of  the  compli- 
ments and  praise  which  fell  to  his  share, 
particularly  the  earnest  and  often-repeated 
thanks  of  the  young  girl,  who  now  learned 
that  Torqua,  now  the  chief  of  Pimug-na, 
was  her  rescuer.  The  wind  roared  fiercely 
over  the  dunes,  sending  the  sparks  from  the 
fire  high  into  the  air.  Far  down  the  big 
mound  could  be  seen  the  camp  fires  of  the 
Pimug-nas,  who  were  celebrating  their  vic- 
tory by  strange  ceremonies  and  dances. 

"  It  is  evident,"  said  Seiior  Delagoa  to  the 
boys,  "  that  you  are  in  danger.  By  this  time 
the  Captain  General  of  the  Mission  Presidio 
has  been  informed  that  you  and  Torqua 
escaped,  and  it  will  be  his  plain  duty  to 
search  the  islands  and  capture  you  and 
carry  out  his  orders  ;  but  I  am  confident 
that  with  you  in  Spain  I  can,  with  certain 
influence  at  my  command,  unravel  the 
skein  and  see  you  justified,  so  I  advise  that 
we  lose  no  time,  but  set  sail  at  once,  as  by 


266    THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

the  first  packet  south  the  news  of  your  de- 
parture will  be  reported.  I  shall  not  feel 
safe  until  I  have  you  on  the  Atlantic  headed 
for  old  Spain." 

"  We  are  ready,"  replied  Arturo. 

"Then  we  will  sail  to-morrow/'  replied 
Senor  Delagoa.  "Torqua,"  he  continued, 
"  I  will  deliver  to  you  for  your  warriors  a 
sum  of  money.  Tell  them  where  our  prop- 
erty from  the  wreck  is  concealed ;  it  is 
theirs  ;  and  when  I  reach  San  Bias  I  will 
see  that  the  next  ship  north  brings  them  a 
load  of  the  things  which  I  know  they  need, 
—  clothing  and  implements.  I  shall  never 
forget  the  brave  men  of  Santa  Catalina, 
their  valor  and  courage,  and  I  wish  to  tell 
them  so.  Can  you  not  call-  them  up  ?  " 

Torqua  sprang  to  his  feet  and  shouted 
"  Alala  !  "  which  served  as  a  call.  As  the 
warriors  collected  quickly  about  him,  their 
savage  faces  and  half-naked  bodies,  illu- 
mined by  the  red  blaze,  presented  a  fantastic 
and  spectacular  appearance.  Senor  Delagoa 
made  an  arenga  (address),  Torqua  acting  as 
interpreter,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  the 
men  shouted  their  approbation  and  several 


WING   AND    WING.  267 

of  the  captains  replied  to  the  white  chief, 
all  then  joining  in  a  smoke. 

It  was  far  into  the  night,  and  the  deep 
fog  had  settled  like  a  pall  on  the  island  of 
the  wind  gods  when  the  weary  members  of 
the  expedition  fell  asleep  on  the  sands, 
watched  by  a  few  sentinels. 

In  the  early  morning  they  were  awak- 
ened by  the  blowing  sand,  and  were  given 
an  illustration  of  what  the  wind  gods  could 
accomplish  at  San  Nicolas  during  the  day. 
The  sea  rose  with  marvellous  rapidity,  and 
swept  the  low,  rocky  shore  with  waves 
which  seemed  to  threaten  the  entire  island. 
So  fierce  was  the  gale  that  the  crests  of  the 
waves  were  blown  away  like  clouds.  The 
wind  lifted  the  sand  in  great  coils  and 
wraiths,  whirled  it  upward  into  the  air,  driv- 
ing the  Indians  into  the  canons  for  shelter. 
As  it  was  impossible  to  leave,  the  boys 
watched  the  effects  of  the  storm  on  the  vast 
shell  mounds  and  wandered  along  the  shore 
of  the  mysterious  island.  They  witnessed 
the  sand  blown  from  places,  exposing  skele- 
tons with  their  stone  mortars,  and  piles 
and  heaps  of  abalone  shells  to  cover  others, 


268   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

and  saw  how  by  the  action  of  wind  the  deep 
canons  of  the  island  were  being  filled, — 
glaciers  of  sand. 

A  more  striking  picture  of  wind-blown 
desolation  they  had  never  dreamed  of. 
Everything  about  the  island  was  weird  and 
uncanny.  On  one  plain  or  mesa  the  ground 
was  covered  with  small  polished  pebbles  the 
size  of  peas,  which  the  wind  whisked  into 
the  air  like  chaff.  All  the  canons  leading 
to  the  sea  were  like  the  strange  stairways 
of  giants,  carved  into  mystic  shapes  by  the 
wind.  Some  of  these  were  so  beautiful 
that  it  was  difficult  to  believe  that  it  was 
the  carving  of  nature.  Everywhere  was 
found  the  evidence  of  ancient  life,  —  vast 
shell  mounds  capped  with  shells,  graves 
marked  by  flat  rocks  and  the  ribs  of  whales, 
and  at  one  place  the  skeletons  of  four  or 
five  whales  were  discovered,  which,  accord- 
ing to  a  native,  had  been  killed  and  washed 
ashore  by  the  terrific  sea.  All  along  shore 
the  cliffs  were  cut  and  eaten  down  into 
strange  pyramidal  shapes.  In  the  sheltered 
places  were  great  flocks  of  black  cormo- 
rants, and  high  in  the  rocks,  away  from  the 


WING   AND   WING.  269 

sea,  were  scores  of  sea  lions,  driven  from 
their  native  element  by  the  gale,  while  here 
and  there  diminutive  foxes  were  seen  chased 
by  the  half -wild  dogs  of  the  natives. 

As  the  Indians  wished  a  sea  lion,  a  hunt 
was  organized  and  a  large  bull  shot  by 
Raphael.  The  boys  crept  upon  a  herd, 
which  dashed  into  the  sea  as  they  ap- 
proached, several  remaining  on  the  rocks, 
where,  with  open  mouths,  they  menaced 
their  enemies,  only  retreating  when  they 
were  literally  forced  away.  The  warriors 
dashed  out  into  the  water  and  hauled  in 
the  dead  sea  lion,  which,  in  a  short  time, 
they  had  roasting  on  the  beach. 

"  How  can  any  one  live  in  such  a  wind- 
swept place,  Torqua  ? "  asked  Raphael, 
loading  his  gun  again  as  they  stood  looking 
at  a  heap  of  bones  and  grinning  human 
skulls  near  the  sea-lion  rookery. 

"  You  think  your  home  in  Spain  the  best, 
Don  Arturo,"  replied  Torqua.  "  I  like 
Pimug-na,  Tshuma  like  Limun.  San  Nico- 
las is  a  bad  place,  blow  all  the  time,  but  it 
is  home  to  these  people ;  they  like  it.  Once 
San  Nicolas  was  a  fine  island,  plenty  of 


270   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

trees,  many  people,  canoes,  towns,  and  otter 
skins,  —  long,  long  ago  ;  but  something 
happen,  and  now  it  blow  away.  Sometime 
San  Nicolas  will  blow  into  the  sea." 

The  following  day,  before  the  sun  rose, 
the  wind  having  gone  down,  the  start  was 
made.  Torqua  delivered  the  treasure  from 
the  "  White  Otter  "  supply  to  his  people 
and  explained  that  he  was  going  south  with 
his  friends  the  white  men,  but  would  return. 
They  were  to  go  to  Pimug-na  and  report  to 
his  father,  the  former  chief,  their  victories. 

"  Zizu  you  will  leave,"  said  Torqua.  "  He 
has  played  us  false  many  times,  but  the 
White  Otter  has  asked  me  not  to  kill  him, 
so  we  leave  him  here  where  the  wind  blows 
night  and  day.  He  sought  the  place,  let 
him  live  in  it.  See  that  every  canoe  is 
towed  away,"  he  cried,  "that  the  dog  of  an 
ano  cannot  escape." 

The  people  of  San  Nicolas,  finding  that 
they  were  not  to  be  killed,  came  down  to  the 
beach  with  their  children  and  wild  dogs, 
and  gazed,  mute  and  silent,  at  the  Pimug- 
nas  as  they  launched  their  gaily  painted 
canoes,  and  in  consternation  when  they  saw 


WING   AND   WING.  271 

their  own  canoes  to  the  last  one  carried  off. 
The  "  White  Otter  "  weighed  anchor,  and 
as  she  bore  away  the  little  party  raised  a 
cheer  for  the  brave  warriors,  who,  with 
sturdy  stroke,  followed  them  out  into  the  wild 
channel.  For  a  while  they  kept  company, 
then  the  "White  Otter,"  wing  and  wing, 
gained  and  left  them  far  behind;  now  they 
were  lost  behind  a  big  sea,  now  poised  on  a 
distant  crest  like  birds,  then  a  fog  cloud, 
blown  from  the  wind-swept  island,  closed 
in  and  shut  them  out  forever. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE    PATRIOT. 

AS  the  vessel  flew  by  Pimug-na  and  its 
mountains  began  to  disappear  in  the 
blue  haze,  Torqua  became  silent  and  op- 
pressed, and  for  a  long  time  sat  gazing 
steadfastly  at  the  loved  outlines  of  his 
home,  fast  fading,  melting  away.  Suddenly 
he  turned  to  Senor  Delagoa,  who  had  been 
watching  his  strong  and  mobile  face,  and 
said : 

"Senor,  you  have  asked  me  to  go  to 
Spain." 

"  Yes,"  said  his  friend,  wondering  what 
was  coming. 

"  Good !  "  continued  Torqua,  his  face  as- 
suming an  expression  of  dignity  and  even 
solemnity,  "  I  will  go,  Senor.  You  see  what 
my  people  are.  They  are  children  with  the 
stature  of  men ;  they  play  all  day  long, 
when  the  Spaniard  works,  thinks.  I  have 


THE    PATRIOT.  273 

wondered,  Senor,  what  makes  the  difference 
between  my  people  and  the  Spaniards. 
You  have  ships,  wealth,  money,  arms  of 
hard  metal ;  my  people,  just  as  long  here, 
just  as  old,  have  nothing ;  they  know  little 
more  than  the  birds,  the  squirrel.  First  I 
thought  the  difference  was  the  color.  You 
are  white ;  we  are  dark.  But  it  is  not  that ; 
it  is  the  '  think,'  it  is  in  the  head.  The 
Spaniard,  the  white  man,  is  what  you  call 
a  pensador  (thinker).  The  Pimug-na  thinks 
with  his  stomach.  When  he  is  hungry  his 
stomach  says  kill;  when  his  stomach  is 
full,  it  says  sleep.  My  people  are  made  like 
the  white  man  inside ;  they  are  brave,  they 
are  good  warriors ;  the  only  change  is,  they 
are  dark.  I  will  go  to  Spain  and  with  my 
money  get  the  learning  that  Don  Arturo 
and  Don  Raphael  have  told  me  about,  that 
they  have.  I  will  buy  my  people  tilings 
that  the  white  man  has,  and  I  will  come 
back  to  Pimug-na  like  a  libro  (book)  and 
tell  my  people  what  I  know,  show  them 
how  to  be  a  great  people,  so  that  they  will 
not  be  slaves,  to  be  locked  up  in  missions 
and  forced  to  work." 

18 


274        THE   ADVENTURES    OF   TORQUA. 

"  Brava  !  Torqua,  you  are  a  true  patriot," 
cried  Captain  Hurtaldo  impulsively.  "  You 
are  right,  and  we  will  do  everything  we  can 
for  you." 

Torqua  was  indeed  a  patriot  and  a  phi- 
lanthropist. The  idea  of  freedom  and  lib- 
erty and  the  principle  that  all  men  were 
born  equal  was  inherent  in  'his  heart,  strug- 
gling for  expression  ;  he  was  a  born  leader 
and  would  be  a  savior  of  his  people. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  his- 
tory of  the  eventful  trip.  The  "White 
Otter  "  made  the  voyage  to  Mexico  and  the 
isthmus  in  fifty  days,  being  forced  to  stop 
along  the  coast,  and  a  month  later  the 
little  party  was  on  the  way  to  Spain, 
arriving  there  in  due  course  of  time. 
Senor  Delagoa  was  found  to  be  a  man  of 
great  influence,  and  he  soon  unravelled  the 
political  plot  which  had  involved  and  threat- 
ened the  two  boys.  He  learned  that  the 
King  had  not  understood  the  case,  and  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  Don  Arturo  and 
Don  Kaphael  restored  to  royal  favor,  and 
both  given  appointments  as  officers  in  his 
Majesty's  service  as  recompense.  Torqua 


THE    PATRIOT.  275 

was  supplied  with  instructors,  and,  as  chief 
of  the  Pimug-nas,  vassals  of  Spain,  he  at- 
tracted much  attention  and  was  accorded 
the  honors  due  one  in  his  position.  Two 
years  later  we  find  him  returning  to  his 
people,  accompanied  by  Don  Raphael  and 
Don  Arturo,  who  were  ordered  to  the  presi- 
dios of  San  Juan  and  San  Diego.  They 
crossed  the  isthmus,  took  a  packet  bound 
north,  and  in  due  course  of  time  sighted  the 
island  of  Santa  Catalina.  Torqua's  impa- 
tience was  so  great  to  see  his  people  again 
that  he  could  not  wait  for  the  landing  at 
San  Juan,  and  at  his  request  the  packet 
put  in  at  the  Bay  of  Moons.  Bancroft  Ubraiy 

There  was  the  familiar  sugar-loaf  rock, 
the  huts  on  the  beach,  but,  to  their  surprise 
no  canoes  were  seen,  no  natives  swarming 
on  the  shore.  Perhaps  they  were  in  the 
interior.  Torqua  could  not  wait,  and,  with 
a  soft  cloth  around  him,  plunged  into  the 
clear  waters  and  swam  ashore.  As  he 
climbed  up  the  beach  a  chill  struck  his 
heart ;  the  village  was  deserted,  his  father's 
hut  was  falling  to  decay;  the  sands  were 
strewn  with  mortars,  pestles,  and  shells ; 


276        THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

ravens  croaked  dismally  from  deserted  in- 
teriors. The  Pimug-nas  were  gone.  He 
walked  to  the  rock  upon  which  was  em- 
blazoned the  welcome  of  his  tribe  and, 
leaning  over,  he  read  signs  that  told  that 
his  people  were  gone,  but  how  or  where 
the  rock  writing  did  not  explain.  He  en- 
tered the  boat  that  Don  Eaphael  and  Don 
Arturo  had  rowed  in,  and  in  silence  pointed 
to  .the  picture  of  desolation  and  decay. 

The  same  day  the  packet  reached  San 
Juan  Capistrano,  where  their  reception  was 
different  from  that  a  few  years  ago  when 
they  stole  down  the  caiion  to  the  sea. 
They  were  received  with  all  honors,  but 
Tor  qua,  whose  heart  had  been  bursting,  over- 
flowing with  joy  at  the  prospect  of  rejoin- 
ing his  people,  —  his  very  life  and  spirits 
seemed  nipped  in  the  bud,  and  morose,  yet 
quiet  and  dignified,  he  walked  among  the 
neophytes  and  Indians,  who  were  collected 
about  the  mission  apparently  under  the 
complete  domination  of  the  Padres.  From 
them  he  soon  learned  that  his  people  had 
been  brought  ashore  by  force  by  the  zeal- 
ous Friars  and  that  their  individuality  had 


THE    PATRIOT.  277 

been  lost  by  a  cunning  distribution  among 
the  links  of  the  great  mission  chain  that 
was  insidiously  creeping  along  the  coast, 
and  at  each  of  which  a  different  dialect  was 
spoken.  Torqua  resented  this  with  sup- 
pressed fury  and  indignation,  and  began  at 
once  a  secret  movement  for  the  restoration 
of  his  race.  He  found  thirty  of  his  bravest 
warriors  at  San  Juan.  Ten  were  shearing 
sheep;  the  young  girls,  their  daughters, 
were  nuns,  shut  up  in  an  enclosure  called 
a  convent.  Brave  Colco,  who  led  the 
charge  at  Limun  by  his  side,  was  a  servant 
at  the  table  of  a  Spaniard,  who,  to  amuse 
his  guests  at  dinner,  threw  tortillas  rolled 
into  balls  at  Colco  and  other  Indian  ser- 
vants, who  were  expected  to  catch  them  in 
their  teeth  like  dogs.  They  were  forced  to 
work  without  pay ;  many  were  confined  at 
night  and  the  most  rigorous  punishments 
were  inflicted,  all  being  subject  to  whippings, 
while  the  monitors  of  the  church  often 
used  goads  and  lashes  at  mass  to  force  their 
attention  to  the  strange  gods  and  images. 
This  and  much  more  roused  Torqua  to 
a  frenzy,  and  he  began  an  immediate  but 


278   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

secret  campaign  for  liberty.  He  determined 
to  collect  his  people  from  every  mission  and 
lead  them  back  to  Santa  Catalina  and  make 
them  a  free  nation. 

But  Torqua  still  had  enemies.     His  plan 
was  disclosed,  and  Zizu,  his  ancient  enemy, 


Mission  of  San  Luis  Rey. 

now  a  spy  and  worker  at  the  mission,  re- 
ported him  to  Padre  Anmrrio,  who  caused 
his  arrest  for  inciting  an  insurrection,  but 
Arturo  and  Raphael  secured  his  release. 
Torqua  was  a  true  patriot.  He  felt  that 
his  people  had  been  enslaved,  and  with 
a  small  band  he  fled  and  marched  over 
the  hills  to  the  Mission  of  San  Luis  Rey, 


THE    PATRIOT.  279 

working  at  night,  hiding  during  the  day. 
They  sent  out  scouts  into  the  mission  at 
night  and  found  that  thirty  or  forty  Pimug- 
nas  were  here,  but  Padres  Santiago  and 
Pegri,  who  with  Indian  labor  had  built 
this  fine  mission,  were  notified  of  Torqua's 
movement  and  object,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  flee  with  his  little  army,  going  to  the 
Mission  of  San  Antonio  de  Palo,  there  find- 
ing more  Pimug-nas.  From  here  Torqua 
marched  his  slender  following  to  the  Mission 
of  San  Gabriel  Archangel,  where  stood  the 
large  Indian  town  of  Sibag-na.  Here  more 
Pimug-nas  joined  him,  and  learning  from 
them  that  over  one  hundred  of  his  people 
had  been  carried  to  the  Mission  of  Santa 
Barbara  he  marched  the  little  army  over 
the  mountains,  through  the  Ojai  Valley, 
little"  knowing  that  they  were  now  looked 
upon  as  a  menace  to  the  church  and  fol- 
lowed by  an  armed  force.  Torqua  reached 
Santa  Barbara  at  night,  and  by  his  enthu- 
siasm soon  induced  his  people  to  join  him, 
and  it  was  decided  that  the  Pimug-nas  should 
take  the  canoes  of  the  Indians  of  Xucu  l  (El 

1  San  Buenaventura  of  to-day. 


280   THE  ADVENTURES  OF  TORQUA. 

Pueblo  de  las  Canoas),  a  large  Indian  town. 
But  their  plans  were  frustrated  by  Padre 
Oramas,  who  mustered  the  troops  from  the 
presidio  and  ordered  the  Pimug-nas  to  sur- 
render. A  battle  was  the  result,  in  which 
the  natives  were  defeated  and  driven  away. 
Being  poorly  armed,  their  arrows  no  match 
for  the  guns  of  the  Spaniards,  they  retreated 
down  the  coast,  followed  by  constantly  aug- 
mented forces  of  Spanish  soldiers  who  were 
ordered  to  capture  them,  and  quell  what 
was  looked  upon  as  a  mutiny.  Torqua' s 
forces  were  decimated  in  various  ways  in 
his  long  retreat  down  the  shore  from  Xucu 
(Ventura),  ever  hoping  to  find  canoes  to 
take  them  to  their  beloved  island ;  but  the 
Spaniards  drove  them  on,  and  finally  they 
were  surrounded  on  a  high  headland,  which 
reached  boldly  out,  the  nearest  land  to 
Santa  Catalina.  It  happened  that  Arturo, 
now  a  captain,  was,  much  against  his  will,  in 
charge  of  the  force,  and  in  the  final  engage- 
ment he  saw  Torqua  vainly  rallying  his 
men,  and  called  to  him.  But  Torqua  turned, 
waved  his  hand  in  the  air,  and  ran  toward 
the  sea.  Thinking  that  he  would  escape  by 


THE    PATRIOT.  281 

some  hidden  trail,  the  soldiers  followed,  but 
Torqua  stopped  for  a  moment,  standing  on 
the  edge  of  a  precipitous  rock  which  was 
beaten  by  the  waves  many  feet  below.  So 
fierce  was  the  sea  here  that  the  waves,  strik- 
ing the  wall,  rose  and  sent  their  spray  high 
up  to  the  mesa.  Suspecting  that  Torqua 
would  not  surrender,  Arturo  ran  forward, 
shouting  his  name,  "  Torqua,  amigo !  "  but 
Torqua  stood  like  a  bronze  statue,  his  eyes 
bent  on  the  purple  outlines  of  the  distant 
island  mountains;  and  as  the  Spaniards 
reached  the  brink  of  the  awful  precipice 
they  saw  the  white  fluffy  foam  of  a  mighty 
breaker  rising  higher  and  higher,  and  as  it 
poised,  Torqua  plunged  down  into  its  very 
heart  and  was  lost  to  view  in  the  swirling, 
seething  maelstrom  of  the  black  current. 
The  Spanish  soldiers  drew  back  speech- 
less, some  in  horror  at  the  tragedy,  others 
in  admiration  of  the  deed,  all  believing 
that  Torqua,  the  bold  and  chivalrous  leader, 
was  lost,  crushed  upon  the  jagged  teeth-like 
rocks  which  lined  the  shore.  All  but  Ar- 
turo, who,  gazing  into  that  churning  sea  of 
foam,  fancied  he  saw  a  human  figure  —  or 


282        THE    ADVENTURES    OF    TORQUA. 

was  it  a  sea  lion  ?  —  rise  far  beyond  the  kelp 
and  with  vigorous  strokes  make  for  the 
outer  sea.  Pimug-na  was  three  leagues  dis- 
tant, crouching  like  some  monster  on  the 
sea.  Could  a  man  swim  the  distance  ? 
Who  knows  ?  One  of  the  prisoners,  Tor- 
qua's  friend,  brave  Ohu-ute,  gazing,  as 
though  fascinated,  at  the  swirling  waters, 
cried,  "  Tiribit  par  ! "  meaning  "  The  water 
is  good,  better  than  the  Spaniards,"  and 
turned  away,  joy  in  his  heart,  knowing 
well  that  the  great  chief  was  not  lost,  and 
would  lead  them  again.  With  him,  Arturo, 
and  Raphael  rested  brave  Torqua's  secret. 


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STORIES    OF    THE 

REVOLUTION 

By  JOHN  PRESTON   TRUE 

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Captain    of    Cavalry 
during   the    Revolution 

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